Before members of Congregation Emeth light their Menorahs on the
seventh night of Hanukkah, they will serve Christmas dinner to 150
people at the Lord
’s Table in Gilroy.
Before members of Congregation Emeth light their Menorahs on the seventh night of Hanukkah, they will serve Christmas dinner to 150 people at the Lord’s Table in Gilroy.
“We just want to do our part to help people who are needy,” said Michael Heil, coordinator for the project and a member of Congregation Emeth’s Social Action Committee.
“Since we don’t celebrate Christmas, it’s a particularly good time of year to help out and give other groups a break,” he said.
Nearly a dozen members of the Congregation, whose membership is throughout the South Valley, agreed to roast 15 turkeys for the meal since the ovens on site cannot accommodate the amount needed. On Christmas Day volunteers will be at the Lord’s Table from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to prepare the rest of the food, serve and clean.
Emeth has a long tradition of helping at the Lord’s Table on Christmas but recently has been committed to other projects.
In the spring, members donated most of the food and volunteers for one meal. This time, the work is more labor intensive. Emeth gathered 22 volunteers from a congregation of only 65 families to help with this event.
“With respect to my own two boys living at home, I think one of the greatest things they receive is the awareness of neediness in our community. They tend to live in a bubble. It’s important that we remind everyone that in a relatively affluent part of the country there are needy people who rely on a place like this to get nourishing food.”
Most of the food for the Lord’s Table is donated by local grocery stores.
