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Dublin United Church to deliver Christmas dinners to less fortunate this year

Royal City Mission will also be provided with dinners for a small indoor gathering for those with nowhere to go
20201123 Christmas dinner AD
Past photo of pie slices served at the Christmas dinner hosted by Dublin United Church and Royal City Mission Church. Supplied photo.

Update: This story was corrected to accurately reflect the hours and days of service at Royal City Mission.

There will be Christmas dinners provided for Guelph's less fortunate this year, albeit in a different way.

Dublin United Church, which has traditionally hosted a Christmas dinner on Dec. 25 the past several years, will be delivering Christmas dinners to those that register in advance this year.

They will also be providing dinners that will be available for a smaller sit-down group at Royal City Mission on Quebec Street for those experiencing homelessness.

“There’s a real strong will to see this happen,” says Rev. Bruce Dickson of Dublin United Church. “If there’s any way to make it happen, we’ll try.”

In the past several years, Dublin United Church and Royal City Mission Church have organized a sit-down Christmas dinner for the less fortunate. 

This year, they have decided to continue the tradition, delivering takeout meals consisting of turkey, potatoes, gravy and pie to people on Dec. 25.

“The big Christmas dinner, kind-of like the banquet feel ... that’s been the norm, but it’s not going to happen this year.” says Dickson. 

While both organizations have committed to running a Christmas dinner, it is being organized differently for to abide by safety protocols.

People will have to register to be on a delivery list. Since meals will be brought to residents, anyone interested in participating needs to register by Dec. 10 with their name and address. Residents can register by calling Dublin United Church at 519-821-0610.

“We’re anticipating that we’re probably looking at feeding 150 people, which is what we’re aiming towards right now.” says Dickson about how many people they expect to sign up.

Another change is that they will not be seeking out any volunteers. Dickson says they already have around 25 volunteers who will help make and deliver meals to those in need.

“In the past, we have found we usually have far more volunteers than we have jobs for them,” Dickson explains. 

For those who are looking to support their efforts, they can make a donation to Dublin United on their website, which can be found here.

Although people won’t be able to gather, Pastor Kevin Coghill at Royal City Mission on Quebec Street says they will be offering very limited indoor dining at their location for the homeless. 

He explains their facility is currently used as a designated warming centre by Public Health, operating from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday. They distribute takeout meals Monday to Friday 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. and Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

With safety protocols in place, they can host a maximum of 35 people for a dinner Christmas Day, Coghill says.

“They (Dublin United Church) are sending a limited number of meals here for the homeless,” says Coghill, “We need to look after those that have nowhere to be warm.”

With the pandemic affecting everyone's well-being this year, Coghill says they hope to help uplift some spirits by sharing food with others.

“We recognize that many people don’t have family to be with, and so, even though we can’t necessarily can’t be together, we can still have a good meal.“ 

“It’s one of those things that people really feel good about to help others with,” adds Dickson, “There’s just something about it that speaks to people’s hearts.”

As COVID cases continue to rise across the province, there remains a possibility that the dinner can be cancelled at any point.

“Everything is always dependent upon protocols,” says Dickson, “We are always trying to honour both what Public Health tells us and what the provincial government sets out.”

“So, if they say this is not possible, then we’re hopeful to have people’s names by December 10, so that we can at least reach out to people if things change.”

However, Dickson does mention that even if faced with challenges, they would keep trying to find ways to pull off this event.

“People will try to be as creative as possible in this to make it happen,” he says, “If we can’t assemble everything here, we’ll try to assemble it at people’s houses.”


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Ariel Deutschmann

About the Author: Ariel Deutschmann

Ariel Deutschmann is a feature writer and reporter who covers community events, businesses, social initiatives, human interest stories and more involving Guelph and Wellington County
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