Lunch and hope on ‘one of the loneliest days of the year’

Friends Gwen Fitzgerald and Veronica Blair spent Christmas Day together on Sunday, as they have done for the past 30 years.

But they weren’t sitting down to a leisurely meal at home.

Fitzgerald, 78, and Blair, 72, spent the day working hard, helping give out more than 300 free meals at St Anthony’s Catholic Church hall in Glen Huntly, in Melbourne’s south-east.

The mood among more than 30 volunteers greeting guests, cooking, packing and cleaning up on a hot day, was buoyant and positive.

Fitzgerald said some guests had no families, were estranged, or their relatives were overseas and they find themselves alone. “Our job is to make them feel welcome.”

An unexpected donation of 8000 grocery items, worth about $20,000, came from former parishioner Shane Cosgrave.

Shane Cosgrave donated half the contents of his Hampton grocery store to be handed out at St Anthony’s Glen Huntly’s Christmas Day community lunch.

Some items were approaching their best-before date when Cosgrave bought a fully stocked supermarket to be known as IGA Local Grocer + Liquor Hampton. Instead of throwing them out, he donated them to feed people in need.

Fitzgerald said it was an amazing gesture. She also paid tribute to Christmas Day volunteers such as William Tjahjadi, who spent the day cooking in the hall kitchen after working 14 hours on Saturday on his own food business, Sataylicious.

Fitzgerald’s friend Veronica Blair, who with Fitzgerald and other volunteers started the St Anthony’s Christmas Day meals in 1992, said: “Neither of us would say that we sacrifice our Christmas Day, because we really enjoy it”.

“I really enjoy meeting the various people who come.”

Two recipients, pensioners and friends Stephen, 62, and Judy, 59, said they were grateful for the service, which meant they could have a hearty Christmas lunch.

Judy said the volunteers were fantastic. “They’re so kind and giving and they’re always happy and glad to be there. You can’t thank them enough.”

Judy said she and Stephen have struggled financially this year due to rising costs. “It’s really hard to make ends meet.”

Along with the Christmas meal they stocked up on tacos, cereal, muesli bars and packaged meals.

At the Diamond Creek Uniting Church, in Melbourne’s north-eastern suburbs, 70 volunteers gave out lunch to 197 people, mostly by delivery.

One of the organisers, Graham Ford, said it was his 17th year volunteering on Christmas Day.

At Frankston Arts Centre, in Melbourne’s south-east, more than 400 people sat down to lunch served by 120 volunteers, with entertainment by a pianist and carol singing.

Mark Whitby, pastor at Frankston Life Church and charity, which runs the lunch, hasn’t missed one since it started 22 years ago. He said it was an important event.

He started it after noticing Christmas Day was “one of the loneliest days of the year” for some people, for example those who were separated from their families.

“It should be a happy day, it should be a day that people enjoy and feel that someone cares. And that’s what we try to engender,” Whitby said.

At St Kilda Beach, people gathered to mark Christmas with a dip in the bay, or to simply ignore the holiday altogether and relax in the sun.

Richard Burgess, fourth from left, and friends at St Kilda Beach on Christmas Day.Credit:Eddie Jim

Richard Burgess and his friends arrived from the United Kingdom about two weeks ago.

This is Burgess’ second summer Christmas, but his friends’ first festive period in the Southern Hemisphere.

“It doesn’t really feel like it’s Christmas but it’s quite nice,” he said. “We left snow at home, it was minus 5 degrees, and obviously it wasn’t as great here, but yeah today’s nice. I quite like it, from time to time, to do something different.”

His friends added: “It’s really weird.”

Rajveer Singh and wife Pinder Kaur with children Viraj and Waris at St Kilda Beach.Credit:Eddie Jim

Rajveer Singh and his wife Pinder Kaur don’t traditionally celebrate Christmas, but they decided to bring their two sons, Viraj and Waris, to the beach to be a part of the joyous vibe.

“We like to be involved and try to enjoy the festive season as much as we can,” Singh said.

“The youngest was born in [COVID] lockdown so this is the first time he’s coming down to the beach and the eldest went to the beach when he was 10 months old but he hasn’t been back since.”

With Sumeyya Ilanbey

The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.

Most Viewed in National

From our partners

Source: Read Full Article