Christmas dinner for all

The Elm Street United Methodist Church in South Portland prepared a Christmas Day Dinner for the community for a second straight year, offering free meals at the church or providing take-out for anyone who wanted to eat in their own home. Some meals also were delivered by church members to homes in South Portland and Portland.

About 100 meals were given out on Christmas Day.

Elm Street, led by the Rev. Andrea Harvey, was the host church, but other United Methodist churches in the Casco Bay Cluster contributed volunteers, including our own church. Cori Heatley from the Thornton Heights UMC coordinated the dinner and its volunteers.

Elm Street Minister Andrea Harvey leads a prayer for volunteers prior to the Christmas Day Dinner.

Thank you to Laura Young and her parents, Carol Haider and Natalie Charles from the Cape Elizabeth UMC for helping out with preparations for and then serving the dinner.

Busy time in the Elm Street kitchen.

Laura Young and Carol Haider preparing desserts for the dinner.