Christmas Dinner for the Community in Spring Valley
The First Baptist Church in Spring Valley served 150 Christmas dinners and distributed clothing to the community during its annual event on Christmas Day.
A church in Spring Valley once again opened its doors to those who needed it most for Christmas Day dinner — distributing clothing and holiday gifts in the process. Because, if you ask those that make the event possible, First Baptist Church “is here for any and everybody.”
Men’s Choir President Fred Murphy has been working with the church for two decades, helping the needy and making sure the homeless, homebound and members of the congregation have the essentials on that holy day: warm clothes, a hot meal and a “place to go.”
“We give them bags of groceries to go home with,” Murphy continued. “We want to make sure that, to let them know that, they’re not alone … That’s why we’re here in this community, to let them know that we have open doors.”
First Baptist Church (located at 6 Hoyt St.), whose motto states: “Where lives are changed and souls are saved,” is known for being a welcoming place that helps others. The congregation is home to more than a dozen ministries, which include efforts toward furthering education, community building and more.
“We pray you will find our church a place you can call home, a place of healing and refuge where you are always welcome,” a message from Rev. Dr. Weldon McWilliams, Jr. reads.
Members of the First Baptist congregation, some donning festive outfits, could be seen piling plates of food high with macaroni and cheese, ribs, vegetables and more. A total of 150 meals were served, including those delivered to homebound individuals.
Attendee Michael Worth called the event “lovely” and “a blessing.” The people at First Baptist “care about the community,” he said.