Some folks got their Christmas meals early, with Beebe Memorial CME Church in Washington taking on the role of Santa Claus when it came to giving those meals.
About 50 people — the less fortunate in the community — were fed at the church from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday.
Zelma Dailey, president of the church’s Lay Council, supervised the preparation of the meals. The annual Christmas dinner began about three years ago, she said.
“It’s getting larger each year,” Dailey said.
Dailey said the impetus behind the Christmas dinner is a simple one.
“I had thought that the less fortunate out here need food, so I decided we will just do something for them,” Dailey said.
The church’s feeding of the less fortunate in the community is not limited to just Christmas.
“We do it every fourth Saturday,” Dailey explained.
Those dining at the church Saturday were treated to turkey, stuffing, collards, sweet-potato fluff, hushpuppies and desserts that included a variety of cakes and pies.
About 10 church members helped prepare the dinners, Dailey noted. One member, Clifton Minor, braved Saturday’s brisk winds and cold temperatures as he mixed the batter for hushpuppies, then fried those hushpuppies. Once they turned golden brown, he scooped them up and placed them in a holding pan. Inside, others tended to the rest of the menu items.
The church’s pastor, the Rev. Edward Moultrie, said the dinners every fourth Saturday and at Christmas are parts of the church’s overall ministry to the community.
“Our call is not only to feed the souls with the Word but also to be tangible by feeding folks with natural food. We look at what Jesus did. Jesus not only fed with his sermons, but he also fed with tangibles — fish and loaves of bread,” Moultrie said. “It’s a way to give back. We not only do this during the Advent season, but every fourth Saturday of the month.”