The Long Creek Church congregation held its third annual Christmas Outreach Dinner on Dec. 9, 2015. The goal was to get each member in Long Creek, Ore., and surrounding areas together with some food and fun activities. Members hoped to use the Christmas season to emphasize how God has blessed during the past year.
This year's menu of lasagna, green beans, garlic bread and salad was enhanced by a table loaded with sweet breads and cookies. At each person’s plate was a wrapped package prepared by Vi Pflugrad with some goodies inside and a number. The number was used to give away some special prizes, including the poinsettia plants arranged on the tables. A number of favorable comments were heard from those attending.
Sherry Schultz was in charge of organizing the festivities, and Pearl Spencer handled most of the decorations. The wonderful food was a combined effort by the church members, who used the occasion to publicly post on the wall the proposed plan to build a new church and to ask for community assistance.
The 48 people attending the program included nearly twice as many people from the community as the local church. Tim Greenlaw, from the Walla Walla, Wash., area, provided some excellent sing-along Christmas carols. Carolyn Pitcher, a local community church member, contributed with a song, played her guitar and read a humorous poem. Leland Spencer read a personal story that emphasized God’s love and care during the past year.
There was a wonderful feeling of togetherness, and the presence of God was felt by all who attended. When God calls a community together to celebrate in His name, good things happen.