For the 24th year, Northwest Portland Ministries hosted a Christmas dinner for the community. The logistics of this year’s event were challenging, thanks to a major snowstorm that shut down most of the city. However, canceling the dinner was never an option, because so many people were counting on it.Thanks to the ingenuity and generosity of many volunteers, the dinner went on as planned. We served 497 meals that day, including 83 that were delivered to the homes of people who were unable to get to Temple Beth Israel, the site of the dinner.
Even though some of the 130 scheduled volunteers were also unable to come in, others who lived nearby or had chains on their cars filled in. This was a truly interfaith and community-supported event, with food, funding, equipment, decorations, and volunteers from Beth Israel, St. Mary’s Cathedral, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, First Immanuel Lutheran Church, Havurah Shalom, Ascension Episcopal Parish, Food Front, and others who just wanted to help. Our guests enjoyed not only a delicious turkey dinner, but lively music, gifts bags of practical items, scarves and hats knitted by Beth Israel’s “Knit a Mitzvah” group, and a warm and welcoming atmosphere in the midst of a cold and icy week.
