By Patrick Cooley
SHARON — More than 100 people crowded into the banquet hall of the Elks Lodge in Sharon on Christmas morning, as the Rev. Dominic Verdell, associate pastor of the Grace Chapel Community Church, Hermitage, said a few words.
“When we got together and thought about what Christmas really means,” he said, “we thought it was a special time to get together.”
The church organized a free Christmas dinner with the help of the Elks Lodge and The Wave restaurant in Sharon, and Verdell explained that in addition to providing a meal for the less fortunate, they wanted to give people who might not have family in the area a place where they could come for a sense of community on the holiday.
The Salvation Army has traditionally held a dinner on Thanksgiving, but this is believed to be the first community Christmas dinner in the Shenango Valley.
Money for the dinner was raised by the church’s community foundation.
“We both had family at one time,” said Sara Dmochowski, who was sitting with her brother, Mike Messina, at a table in the middle of the banquet hall. “My husband is deceased and his wife is deceased, and our children are far away in Colorado and Connecticut.”
She said the Christmas meal gave them both a chance to spend some time with people they don’t get to see very often.
Ann Shaffer, a nurse from West Middlesex, said she would have to go to work later in the day.
“But I wanted to be with my friends for a little while first,” she said, crediting the volunteers who put the meal together. “It’s very nice of them to give part of their Christmas to do this.”
About 120 people signed up for the dinner ahead of time, according to church officials, and there were a few dozen walk-ins. Many people took carry-out meals, but about half the people who came ate their meals in the banquet room.
At the south end of the room were buckets filled with toys and household items such as cleaning supplies.
“We thought that people can get food and toys this time of year,” Verdell said. “But sometimes it’s hard to find household items.”
He said they gave church members buckets and asked them to fill them with things families might need around the house.
“And we put a few toys in there for the kids,” Verdell said.
More than 50 volunteers gave up their Christmas morning to work at the dinner.
Samantha Gutshall of Sharon isn’t a member of Grace Chapel Community Church, but she said she has a friend who attends services there, and when she heard this was happening, she decided to volunteer her time.
“It’s a good thing to do,” she said.
Many of the volunteers came from Grace Chapel’s Helping Hands group.
“When the pastors came up with the idea, we wanted to serve,” said Mary Lee Campbell, a member of the group.
“We are the hands and the feet of God this morning.”
