On Christmas Eve, Flint Hill Baptist feeds the needy

First they received the message of the gospel at Flint Hill Baptist Church on Thursday, then the congregation acted it out.

After a morning service in the church on Flint Hill Street, worshipers filed into the fellowship hall for a free plate of food and a Christmas gift.

This is the 20th year Flint Hill has hosted a hunger outreach program on the day before Christmas, giving those with a little less holiday cheer one more thing to be cheery about.

About 200 plates were prepared in the church’s tiny kitchen, both for the people who turned out for the service and those who got something home-delivered by volunteers.

Arrelia McClurkin was one of those volunteers, arriving before 9 a.m. to start cooking those plates of rice and green beans, chicken and a biscuit.

“We’ve got about 50 people here helping out from different churches,” McClurkin said, standing over the last cooker of rice on the stove before the post-service dinner.

Weeks of planning went into making sure everything was in place. Tom Love with Woodland United Methodist helped coordinate deliveries in the parking lot.

“We’ve got 28 meals that go out to The Haven men’s shelter, then another 25 that go to a list of shut-ins,” Love said. “Everybody just pitches in with whatever needs to be done.”

Ten different churches collaborated in getting the plates prepared and handed out, along with donating the Christmas gifts that were piled on tables around the hall.

“We’ve broken them up by ages and gender, too. And then when they come through they can eat and pick up their gift,” said church member Shannon Wright from her post at the first table in line to greet people coming out of the sanctuary, a pair of reindeer antlers firmly placed on her head.

Once the 11 a.m. service concluded, adults shepherded batches of children down the line to get their first, and maybe only, Christmas presents. Jaharus Clowney, 8, proudly showed off the new basketball he announced he would shoot as soon as he got home. Next to him, Jakhyia Archie, 5, just as proudly showed off a gift box in red wrapping paper. She had no idea what was in it.

For some, Christmas Eve at Flint Hill has become a tradition. Lifelong church member Princess Hillie made sure to bring her 5-year-old daughter Angel Hillie-Davis to the service and the meal.

“We come every year,” Hillie said. “They do a different program for each holiday. They had a dance performance. ... It’s a wonderful program for children.”

Love worried turnout would be down this year because of the weather, but the fellowship hall was a busy place.

“It’s a time of giving,” he said. “We like to help others in our community as best we can.”

This story was originally published December 24, 2015 at 2:49 PM with the headline "On Christmas Eve, Flint Hill Baptist feeds the needy."