Churches unite to serve community Christmas dinner - -... -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 12/27/2005
Last Visited: 12/28/2005
'We served 225 people for Christmas dinner and made 75 deliveries,' said Rev. Joanne Bartelt, pastor of Memorial United Methodist Church. 'We almost doubled what we did last year.That was so exciting for all of us.'
Bartelt said plans are already in the works for next year's community Christmas dinner.
Bartelt said take-outs, delivered by volunteers from All Saints Church, were taken to residents who have difficulty leaving their homes or apartments. 'We took 50 meals to Harbor Tower in Escanaba,' said Bartelt.
In addition, a hot meal was also brought to on-duty officers from the Gladstone Public Safety and Michigan State Police.
The ecumenical spirit of the community dinner was very moving to the Gladstone pastor. 'It literally brought tears to my eyes,' she said. 'This is what God intended for us to do.'
Bartelt said care was taken that every guest should feel welcomed. 'There was one elderly gentleman who was sitting by himself,' she explained. 'I asked if he would like to join with a family who was sitting at one of the other tables and he said 'I think I would.' We helped take his plate and table service to the other table and it turned out that he had a lot to say.He just needed someone to talk to.'
Bartelt was obviously moved when recalling the incident. 'That's what Christmas is all about,' she said. 'This is a ministry that's so needed and I'm proud to be able to be a part of it.'