St. Luke’s Opens Doors To Community For Christmas Dinner
Trending
WHEELING – As families in Wheeling gathered to open presents, St. Luke's Episcopal Church members and volunteers found community at their 25th annual Christmas dinner.
On Christmas Day, the church's kitchen was filled with activity as workers heaped servings of mashed potatoes, ham, stuffing and more onto plates.
Following a prayer, the volunteers served up the steaming hot meals to community members who stopped by for a bite to eat. Guests enjoyed the food as well as conversation with fellow attendees.
One guest particularly interested in striking up conversation was Santa Claus, who traveled from table to table entertaining visitors with tales of his North Pole travels. At the end of the day, Santa also got to take home a meal to Mrs. Claus.
For this meal to go off without a hitch, preparations begin four days in advance. Volunteer Coordinator Rick Daugherty explained that some dishes, such as turkey, were made ahead of time and then sliced and heated the day of.
With takeout meals also available to grab, St. Luke's Episcopal Church Vestry and event organizer Don Rebich noted they never want to turn anyone away. The church ends up giving "as many as 15 take-out meals to one person," he explained, as visitors often take meals back to their friends and neighbors.
Serving up almost 400 meals last year, Rebich expects to feed at least 300 people this time around, as the church usually hits that minimum. In years past, they have even run out of food to hand out.
"People certainly alert us that there’s definitely a need out there, so we do whatever we can do to help fulfill some of that," he added.
Labeling the event as a "group effort," Rebich explained the event reached beyond their congregation -- in both attendees and volunteers.
"Our congregation is way too small to try and do this on our own, it's physically impossible," he outlined. "So thanks to Rick, we have so many people back there in the kitchen plus the people that cook for us behind the scenes in preparation to make today happen."
Despite never advertising to get volunteers for the meal, Rebich explained that he was impressed that they always had plenty of help.
Many hands made light work on Monday, with Daugherty estimating they had "just the right amount" of workers for the dinner. In years past, the church has received up to 15 volunteers, and Daugherty is always touched by those who show up as early as 8:30 a.m. on Christmas day to prepare the meal.
"We always have way more than we need, so it's great," said Daugherty. "You don’t realize how many are back there cooking and cleaning all day."
Three of the volunteers helping out in the effort that day were Daugherty's granddaughters. He joked that as soon as they turned 10, it was their time to get working on the meals.
Now, Josie, Natalie and Danielle Daugherty couldn't imagine doing anything else during the holiday.
While taking a break from packing up meals, Natalie Daugherty explained that volunteering for the event has turned into a tradition for the family. She noted that over the years, the siblings have bonded with the volunteers working beside them in the kitchen.
"We just look forward to this because after we unwrap our presents, it's not like, "Oh, Christmas is over," added Danielle Daugherty. "We get to come here, so it feels really good to help out."
Rick Daugherty labels the event as a "labor of love." Each year, he looks forward to the opportunity to give back to "some people who are certainly as blessed but maybe not as fortunate" with his family members.
For Rebich, the event demonstrates that the "church exists outside its walls" by allowing them to open their doors and service their neighbors. He emphasized that St. Luke's Episcopal Church holds a free dinner every Sunday of the year and did not shut this service down during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It's not just an hour on Sunday morning," he added. "The church exists outside these walls, which is one way of opening ourselves up to our neighborhood.