Merced’s Spirit of Christmas luncheon open to all

Amid the Christmas bustle and winter chill, hundreds of guests will be welcomed into a dining hall Saturday, waited upon by servers and given time to enjoy a warm holiday meal with camaraderie and conversation. It’s all part of the Spirit of Christmas luncheon.

The annual meal is marking its 25th anniversary this year: Twenty-five years of volunteers serving turkey, traditional side dishes and desserts to anyone who wants to enjoy them – all out of a desire to spread the spirit of the holiday, explained organizer Joe Carroll.

Carroll, a Merced native who recently retired from his work as an electrician and mechanic, said he and a small group of other locals took on the event after another group of individuals decided to end their role in the project.

“I helped this group before. So, I just talked it over with my wife and these other ladies and they said, ‘Hey, let’s do it.’ So, here we are 25 years later,” Carroll said Friday.

In recent years, the group and a large team of volunteers have served between 450 and 500 people. This year, they expect to have enough turkey, garlic potatoes, green beans and desserts to feed up to 600 people.

“We open it up to anyone. We don’t target any particular group,” Carroll said. “We get seniors, because it’s at the Boys & Girls Club, across the street from a senior living area. We get some homeless, and families of all ethnicities.

“It’s for whoever wants a meal. We never know how many we’re going to serve,” he said.

The meal, bags of groceries that are handed out and toys that are presented to small children all come together thanks to donations and help from several groups, including Our Lady of Mercy School; students in a leadership class at McSwain Elementary; volunteers from the Our Lady of Miracles parish in Gustine; and “three ladies who handle all the desserts,” Carroll said.

About 30 volunteers will be on hand to cater to the guests, with some longtime volunteers coming from as far away as Fresno and San Luis Obispo, he said, adding, “We put people to work.”

Unlike similar holiday meals, Carroll said, the Spirit of Christmas luncheon is designed to create a friendly dining experience for the “guests.”

“Our luncheon is totally different than anybody else’s,” he said. “We try to give the personal touch.”

Diners are seated at round tables, eight guests to a table. “They sit around and talk with each other. They visit. We have people waiting on them, asking, ‘Do you need more to drink? Would you like some dessert?’ ”

Carroll says the organizers remind the volunteers, “These are your guests. Treat them as a guest in your home. That’s our philosophy. ... We just say, ‘Hey, enjoy yourself!’ ”

The 68-year-old Carroll said he first became involved in the luncheon because he wanted his three children to understand the true meaning of Christmas. Though they are all grown, they return each year to be part of the event, as do many of the other longtime volunteers.

“It’s all about our guests,” Carroll said. “These people are very appreciative ... the looseness, the camaraderie. The interaction between the guests and the volunteers.

“It’s a chance for us all to take a deep breath and slow down and enjoy the day.”

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Merced’s Spirit of Christmas luncheon open to all."