From left, Hazel Burgert, Shirley Case and Alberta Snow enjoy each other's company and participate in the community Christmas dinner at First United Methodist Church. Snow was at the meal to volunteer and Burgert and Case came to the meal after attending church together. Burgert and Case each live alone and came to the meal to be with other people.

In the kitchen of the First United Methodist Church on Christmas morning, a cry went out:

“We need more turkey,” Toots Schultz yelled, wheeling a cart around the cramped room.

Schultz was definitely in charge here, dishing up delivery meals for the annual community Christmas dinner.

The delivery meals were a staple of the church’s volunteer mission, as they always are. According to volunteers, drivers delivered at least 300 meals this year, many to Lawrence residents unable to get out for the holidays.

In line waiting to fill bags with the carry-out meals, first-time volunteers took instructions from seasoned Christmas dinner vets.

“OK, you want more meals?” an organizer asked Mandy Burks, whose team was already delivering seven meals along Sixth Street.

“Yeah,” Burks said. “We have room for five or six more.”

Isaac Ward, 8, second from left, plays Jingle

Burks and two close family members – all first-timers – were spending their first Christmas in Lawrence together, she said.

“We just had a small Christmas,” she said. “Not much family here.”

So, she said, they decided to volunteer their time this year, to help people who might not have family in town.

Inside the big dining room down the hall, more first-time volunteers dished up food for the 300 or so diners filing in.

Elaine Skoch went through four stacks of plates in an hour, she said. She’s been a member of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church for years, and decided this year to take time to hand out food to those in need.

“It’s a great way to bring the community together,” she said.

It takes all these volunteers to bring the Christmas dinner together, volunteer coordinator Brower Burchill said while watching over the 30-plus volunteer operation.

Volunteers prepare Christmas meals to deliver to those who were unable to attend the community Christmas meal at First United Methodist Church, 946 Vt. Serving from left are Kelly McEniry, Toots Schultz, Layla McEniry and Ben Kincaid.

And not just people donating their time, either, he said. Party America donated all of the plates, silverware and tablecloths. Checkers grocery store and Bigg’s BBQ helped to prepare much of the food.

But the rest, Burchill said, all came from the people who volunteer their time. Burchill said he puts out ads and does radio interviews asking for people to come and help, but for the most part, even the first-timers know when and where to show up.

“We don’t tell them anything,” he said. “They just come.”

All around the big room, people – both first- timers and long-time attendees – had a helping or two of holiday grub, celebrating what Burchill and his crew helped to bring together.

A diner, Steve, who did not want his last name used, sat at a round table toward the back, finishing his plate of turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes.

Sunday was a first of sorts for Steve, too. He’s been coming to the Christmas dinner for years, he said, but this is his first year eating here.

The food was good, he said, but not important to him. For Steve, the time he gets to spend with the people eating around him makes the holiday.

“The holiday is about being around these people, my family,” he said. “The homeless here are one big family.”

• 6News video: Community celebrates 12th annual holiday meal