ROGERS — Festive Christmas decor on tables and aromas coming from the kitchen greeted hundreds of holiday guests on Christmas Day at the Central United Methodist Church annual community Christmas dinner in Rogers.
Diners holding porcelain plates or foam to-go boxes filed through the serving line to receive a free traditional Christmas meal that included turkey, ham, vegetables, cranberry sauce and enough desserts to stock a bakery. Church members and others donate food and their time to cook and serve.
Around noontime on Christmas Day, Dan Vinson was busy shuttling steaming pans of mashed potatoes or dressing to volunteer servers. Vinson, one of the coordinators, said 250 to 300 guests were expected in the dining hall. About 250 to-go meals were served, he said. Volunteers delivered meals to homes, including Meals on Wheels recipients.
Anyone is welcome to attend the annual dinner that has been held for more than 35 years. It’s not a fundraiser or for the needy only, but a community event.
“It’s our way of giving back,” Vinson said. “We want people to feel welcome at our church and feel at home here.”
It’s fine dining each Christmas Day in the church hall. Elegant porcelain plates and silverware are used. Coffee is poured into delicate cups and saucers. Volunteer servers bring water, tea and coffee around as diners enjoy the meal and conversation.
Karen Brown, a dinner organizer, said about 220 volunteers get the feast on tables, “and not all of them go to church here,” she said.
Helpers go beyond the call of cooking duty to make the church hall feel like Christmas. There’s a tall Christmas tree and poinsettia plants galore. A Christmas centerpiece adorns each table. Santa hats and Christmas sweaters are the fashion statement of the day.
“One lady told us she comes because this isn’t just a food line. We decorate and people appreciate that,” Brown said.
Ed and Norma Taylor drove in from Garfield for the Christmas dinner.
“We ate here last year and it was really good,” Ed Taylor said. “And she doesn’t have to cook,” he added, pointing to wife Norma.
“Our kids are all spread out,” Norma said, “and I didn’t see the need to cook a big dinner for just two of us.”
There’s no cleanup, either. Volunteers like Ray Engstrom of Prairie Creek took care of that too. Engstrom loaded up a cart with dishes when a diner finished the meal.
“Our family was here earlier and they left, so this is like our second Christmas,” he said.
Devin Barnhart agreed. Helping out is like getting two Christmases. She’s been volunteering at the dinner since childhood.
“It’s a family tradition. We celebrate Christmas at home, then come and celebrate here,” she said.
Planning the dinner takes a month or more, Brown said. Work on the next Christmas dinner will kick into high gear about time the dishes are washed and put away on Thanksgiving.