GRAND ISLAND – More than 500 people were served a traditional Christmas dinner from noon to 2 p.m. Dec. 25 at St. Pauls Lutheran Church in Grand Island.
In addition, meals were delivered to Meals on Wheels recipients, and food was taken to Hope Harbor as part of the 27th annual dinner at the church. More than 150 people volunteered for the event.
Rev. Jeff Pedersen is senior pastor at St. Pauls Lutheran Church. He commented about why the church offers the meal.
“It is so much about who we are as Christians to show compassion and love for other people,” Pedersen said.
The event has a family atmosphere.
“People feel part of a larger community,” he said. “Everyone experiences the joy of Christmas. Christmas can be a lonely time.”
People were served a traditional Christmas meal that included turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, cranberry relish, and rolls. In addition, people donated deserts, so there was a wide variety of deserts available.
Pedersen had set up near the Fellowship Hall where the meal was served a two-track model train set with a Christmas village in the center of the tracks. He said he was 3 or 4 when he got his first train. Many people gathered to watch the two trains that were running on the tracks.
“It’s a love of my childhood that I’ve never outgrown. It keeps my inner child alive. Christmas brings out the child in all of us,” he said.
Marilyn Fischer of Grand Island has volunteered for the event for six years.
“I just like helping other people. It is something very special. I see people I know, and I stop to talk,” she said.
Associate Pastor Bill Pavuk has worked at the church for 18 years.
He said that 27 years ago, a family from the church started the community dinner as a way of giving back after the family had experienced a loss by the death of a family member.
The dinner means a lot of things to everyone, Pavuk said.
