There's no excuse to be alone on Christmas Day

Although the Christmas season is a time to gather with friends and family and reconnect after a time apart, for some people it’s a lonely time because they have no one to come together with.

For the past 15 years, Rita Lyster and Nancy Zylinski have been setting about trying to change that by hosting a free dinner every Christmas Day at the Barrhead United Church.

Now in its 16th year, the dinner has regularly drawn 60-80 people, all of whom are welcome to join the crowd no matter what their circumstances are, Lyster said.

“They should come if they’re otherwise alone and don’t have anybody else to spend (Christmas) with, or if they are having difficulty preparing their own Christmas dinner,” she said.

Some people who may need to come to the dinner include empty nesters whose children are spending the holidays with the in-laws, or someone who because of sickness or injury could not make a dinner this year, she said.

The purpose of the dinner is not so much to provide a hearty meal to people, she added, as it is a chance for them to be with other people on the holiday.

That’s because while in a small community like Barrhead there are agencies that can provide hampers with food, “what we discovered is the need isn’t so much for (food) as it is for people who don’t have anywhere else to go,” she said.

Although this is the 16th year for the dinner, Lyster said it’s only the 14th year that she has directly organized it. For two years a local restaurant ran it, but moved the date to Christmas Eve.

When the restaurant relinquished control, Lyster moved the dinner back to Dec. 25.

“The whole point was to have it on Christmas Day,” she said. “It was so people would have something to do on that day.”

The meal starts at noon, Lyster said, but people are welcome to start arriving as early as 10 a.m. to join in the church’s Crossways Café worship service.

In the past, people have felt compelled to bring a donation of either money or food items for the food bank, she said. Any donations that do get brought in will go towards either Habitat for Humanity or the food bank.

Zylinski and her husband Les do all the cooking, while Lyster and her husband Steve work to promote the event and organize rides so participants from across the town and county can be driven to the church for the dinner.

There are numerous dedicated volunteers who show up at the church on the morning of Dec. 25 and spend several hectic hours helping the Zylinskis prepare the meal and Lyster get the church hall ready for the dinner.

Anyone needing a ride to the dinner is asked to call Rita or Steve at either 780-674-0684 or 780-674-0859. In addition, anyone who wants to volunteer to make the event a success is asked to call Rita at 780-674-6656.

Lyster and Zylinski are asking everyone who plans to attend to pick up a ticket at either the Co-op, IGA or the church. The tickets are only necessary so they know how many people plan to attend. Tickets will be available until Dec. 22. However, Lyster said if your personal situation changes after that date, let her know you’re coming and she’ll make sure there’s food for you.