The Rev. Charles Polifka is really throwing his weight around these days, and his parishioners at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church couldn’t be happier.

That’s because Polifka, a Capuchin Franciscan friar and pastor of St. John, 1234 Ky., has a unique arrangement with his 1,300-family congregation.

He is trying to lose 15 pounds during Lent, and he has challenged parishioners to pledge any amount of money for each pound he is able to drop before Easter.

The funds that are raised will go toward paying a $62,500 bill to fix the church’s roof.

“It’s more of a fun thing. People are going to pay for it anyway — you might as well have fun,” Polifka says. “I was kind of scared when I first talked about it (during worship services in early March). I didn’t know what they’d say. But when they laughed and cheered at the 5:30 p.m. Mass, I knew I had something.”

Parishioners have responded to Polifka’s unusual suggestion in a big way.

Since he introduced the idea March 7, the church has received pledges from about 200 people totaling $20,000.

Susan Campbell, the church administrator, has stacks of yellow pledge cards on her desk in amounts ranging from a quarter or 50 cents per pound (pledged by children) up to $200 per pound, promised by the St. John Altar Society.

There have been many pledges of $50, $75 and $150 per pound. If the pastor makes good on his end of the bargain, the altar society will have to produce a weighty amount: $3,000.

“I knew people would support it, but this is amazing,” Campbell says. “We’re having a ball. Father Charles has a great sense of humor and playfulness. We can’t believe he’s telling people how much he weighs.”

The pledge drive ends Holy Saturday, April 19, the day before Easter.

At his first date with the scales — he’s weighed every Monday by Carl Inzerillo, a Lawrence doctor of osteopathy and a parishioner — Polifka officially came in at 214 pounds.

As of this week, he was down to almost 202.

Pledge plan sparked by shirt

Polifka got the idea for the pledge drive by accident.

Around the start of March, a member of St. John’s Junior High Youth Group offered him one of the long-sleeved, navy blue T-shirts the young people had printed for themselves.

The youngster held out an extra-large shirt, resembling a pup tent, and said uncertainly, “I hope it fits.”

The pastor, 57, was chagrined.

“It got me thinking,” says Polifka, who already had been wanting to trim his waistline. “I thought this would be a fun thing to do, to tie my weight loss to the roof (repairs). Lord knows how I connected the two. I was looking for something fun to do during Lent.”

At a Mass shortly after he got the idea, Polifka issued his challenge to the parish. He held up the giant shirt, explained his proposition, and said, “I lose weight; you lose money — what a deal.”

Parishioners apparently agree.

“The altar society works for the church, and we usually would give them some money (to fix the roof) anyway, so we thought, ‘We’ll just do this, and our share will be taken care of,'” says Dorothy McGreevy, the group’s president.

“It’s real nice, and the people are really going for it. Father Charles is making a game out of it.”

Jim and Sheila Wisler have done Polifka one better.

They’re on a diet to get in shape for a pilgrimage to Italy with a group from St. John in October. They’re pledging $10 for every pound the pastor loses.

And Sheila Wisler has made a “side bet” with Polifka. She has pledged to pay $5 per pound for the difference between what he loses and what her husband is able to lose.

“We were going to pledge a certain amount anyway to help fix the roof. Then Father Charles came up with this, and it’s a fun way to do it. We got excited about the side bet,” she says.

Sticking to diet, exercise

Polifka looks noticeably slimmer these days.

He’s losing the 15 pounds by sticking to a dietary regimen of only 1,000 calories per day, which means having to pass up any treats that people bring by the church office — like a pear-almond tart on a recent day.

“In the morning, I have oatmeal and a cup of coffee. At noon, I have just a salad. For dinner, I grill a chicken breast on a George Foreman grill that I have, and green beans,” he says. “If I’m feeling hungry, I have an apple. And before I go to bed, I have a glass of wine and a cup of yogurt.”

He’s been taking morning walks for years, but now he’s increased his distance, picked up the pace and added evening walks, too.

Ultimately, Polifka hopes to keep going and get down to 170 or 175 pounds, which is what he weighed a decade ago.

But losing 15 pounds sounded about right for his lenten weight-loss effort to raise money for the roof.

“I hope this Monday I’ll reach 199,” he says.

Parishioners, who have grown accustomed to Polifka’s sense of humor, weren’t all that surprised when he announced his idea for the pledge drive.

“I’ve come up with enough crazy stuff here,” the pastor says. “People are used to me.”