Dinner and fellowship were once again on the menu Christmas Day, as volunteers served about 925 meals during the 19th Christmas Dinner in the Valley over the weekend.
After in-person dining was cancelled last year due to the pandemic, a good number of people stopped at Harvest Valley Church in Scottsbluff Christmas Day, something that event co-organizer Melissa Turman said was truly missed in 2020. “I love that people can come and gather together. We do a lot of single-meal deliveries, and so we know there’s a lot of people that spend Christmas alone. And to have an option where they can come and gather together, and to fellowship, we were made to be relational,” said Turman.
More than 700 meals were delivered throughout the region by volunteer drivers, with the balance served at the church to in-person diners, or with meals to go at the church, as well as by the 11:13 Ministries food truck that was parked at the Guadalupe Center parking lot.
Turman thanked all of the sponsors who helped support the event, as well as those who took time our of their Christmas festivities to serve others. “The volunteers are critical to what we do, and it’s just amazing to get to be here around everybody,” said Turman. “Everybody finds something to do, and the job gets done. Everyone comes together and is serving for one purpose. Our hope in this is not only in providing for someone who needs a meal, but we’re also communicating Jesus’ love for them.”
