A local community church will be offering a free meal on Christmas Day for those in need this year.
The community Christmas dinner will be open to all at the Victory Outreach Manchester on Liverpool Street.
The doors will open at 11:30am, and will allow guests to come join the church in festivities and a warm space.
Guests who do attend will be welcome to sit and enjoy the Christmas meal from 2pm on December 25.
The tradition has gone on for two years already, and event organiser Theresa John will be hoping for a successful third year.
Theresa said: “We started in 2021, and we always see a lot of stuff that surround the festivities but we always forget that there is a dark side to Christmas where people are on their own.
“I really did feel disillusioned with the commercialism of Christmas, and I really wanted to provide something for the community.”
The event in its first year saw 30 to 40 people attend, and grew in numbers last year to 70, however, this year they are prepared for even more.
She continued: “I have always just wanted to help people and provide that warm space, with food and unity for people.
“I really hope that it will grow, but I also hope that people have somewhere to go – we are projecting for at least a 100 people this year.”
While many of us will be sat around family, the community Christmas dinner will open to those less fortunate on the 25 December.
Theresa added: “Last year we had a wide range of guests, we saw so many people of different cultures, different backgrounds, and we are a church but it was open to all.
“It was just a beautiful thing to see, all these people of different cultures, different backgrounds, different cultures, and different countries. It was really special.”
The church have been able to guests from Hong Kong who attended, as Theresa added: “To see such unity, it really warmed my heart.”
“But there is a bitter sweet feeling, but I think being able to be a solution and an option for people can go beyond Christmas.”
Serving the local community the church is open to receiving donations through food or financially – with a team of volunteers helping throughout the day.
“We have an amazing group of volunteers who donate their time, they also donate their finances.”
Guests will be able to provide food donations to the church before the event, and will be able to find them on Liverpool Street.
“We tend to do our preparations on Christmas Eve, we will setup for everyone, and make sure it is a warm and welcoming space,” she said.
“People don’t even have to come and eat, because we have some people who just want to come in and sit in a warm space surrounded by people.”
Those who wish to attend have been encouraged to RSVP themselves in for the event here – food will be served from 2pm and will remain open until 6pm.
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