Greensburg church prepares hundreds of meals for Christmas giveaway

Holly Hallman and her family spend every Christmas at First Presbyterian Church in Greensburg, helping to prepare Christmas dinners for those in need. She’s helped organize the event for eight years, bringing along her husband, Craig, as well as her parents.

This year, she brought a new addition — her 7-month-old son, Quinn — who toddled about in a baby walker under his dad’s watchful eye as Hallman labeled bags for meal delivery.

“This is our family time,” Hallman said. “We’ve made it a tradition.”

The annual Christmas dinner has been a holiday tradition at First Presbyterian Church for 18 years, although things were a little different this year. Volunteers wore masks as they cooked, packaged and delivered the chicken dinners.

Normally, members of the community can choose to get their meal delivered, pick it up themselves or eat at the church. That last option was canceled this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, ruling elder Scott Sucke said.

There was one other big difference: Usually, the church makes about 200 Christmas meals. This year, volunteers made 500.

“We have never had this kind of response,” Sucke said.

More people need food because of the economic effects of the pandemic, Sucke said. The church received hundreds of meal requests.

“We just didn’t say ‘no,’” he said.

The church has a monthly meal program, which also has seen a significant increase in demand this year.

“It’s crazy, but we want to accommodate as many people as possible,” Hallman said. “It’s a rough time for a lot of people.”

A group of more than 35 volunteers prepared the Christmas dinners. Many of them are church members, while some come from the community at large, Sucke said.

The Rev. Sylvia Carlson, a retired pastor and longtime volunteer with the meal program, said people spending their holiday helping others shows the true meaning of Christmas.

“It’s about the gift of giving, and hope and possibility,” she said.

Carlson said she and her fellow volunteers are glad to help the people of Greensburg.

“It’s just an extraordinary outreach,” she said. “It has blossomed into a community dinner for anybody who wants it.”