The stockings will be hung by the chimney with care, but there will be no celebration of a Christmas evening meal on Dec. 25 in Morris this year.
“It is with sad hearts that this year there will be no Christmas Day supper,” shared event coordinator Pat Remple. The organizers have cancelled the buffet-style meal or pre-ordered takeout delivery at the Emmanuel Baptist Church hall.
“Our volunteers have hung up their aprons,” said Remple. “For 24 years we have provided meals for anyone that was alone, shut in, or mentally disabled.”
Rempel started the dinner to help her overcome her struggles with her mother’s passing.
“I wanted to find a place for people who are by themselves to gather so they would not be alone.”
The event’s first serving was at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 11 hall in Morris in 1999. In 2018, the event moved to the church. Noani and Dave Thiessen took over organizing the kitchen.
Last year 70 guests passed through the buffet line and 27 diners ordered takeout. It was a full course meal of ham, meatballs, mashed potatoes, perogies, and coleslaw. Fresh baked buns and desert was also on the menu.
But while the Christmas Day meal is no more, a new community gathering is starting up to help fill the gap it leaves behind.
“The fear for me is that if we cancel the meal for even one year, it will be very hard to get it back on track again, and therefore we are breaking new ground this year,” shared former Morris mayor Dale Hoffman, who is heading up a team of organizers for a new holiday supper.
Hoffman and his team of six fellow volunteers have set Dec. 21, the Saturday before Christmas, as the date to host the new Christmas meal in Morris.
“We are hoping to satisfy the same clients this year as the Dec. 25th evening,” said Hoffman, noting it is open to anyone who is alone for the holidays or perhaps unable to leave their home due to physical or mental challenges. “If we attract more people, that is not a bad thing, but we have to be able to anticipate numbers and therefore we will have sign up sheets in different areas.”
The organizers have a list and are checking it twice.
“We have a cook, Esther Loewen, who has experience cooking for greater numbers than 100 at a time,” said Hoffman. “That is a big hurdle we had to overcome to start.”
The core team of three couples are preparing posters to distribute to advertise the event and help determine numbers.
“The response to help has been overwhelming,” Hoffman said, noting they invite everyone to get involved as volunteers. “We welcome people to be part of this.”
The plan is to still host the meal at the Emmanuel Baptist Church at 5 p.m. on Dec. 21. Ham, meatballs, and turkey are on the menu.
“Of course there will be mashed potatoes and there could be perogies,” said Hoffman. It seems the head organizer has a lead on the dough dumplings stuffed with filling if he can nail down the supply.
“We are looking for donations. I plan to cover some costs for this year but I want to create an account that can have money to keep it going,” Hoffman shared. “Two or three years down the road, someone else can take it over.”
