Union Gospel Mission serves Christmas Eve dinner

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — For 75 years, the Union Gospel Mission has been serving the community. This year marked one of many in a series of annual dinners hosted by the Mission at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center.

Jon Rector, Executive Director Union Gospel Mission told us, “We’re just down here to hand out a good meal. What we consider a traditional meal: Ham and turkey and green beans and corn and potatoes. We got drinks and desserts and rolls. Then of course up the hill we have blankets, sleeping bags, cold weather clothing. Blessing bags, little hygiene kits that our volunteers have brought. And so we’re just trying to be a blessing and love on folks during this season.”

Community members sat together and shared a meal, handed out by volunteers.

Volunteer, Kiah Hames said, “My mom started us years ago volunteering with union gospel and brother Jon and miss Donna. I just like helping them. We’ve become friends. We’ve seen multiple people over the years that we’ve gotten to know, and they’ve just become friends with us, so we come every year and hopefully we see them and just help out.”

It wasn’t just food that was served. One group came together to help in other ways, too. Danielle Hoskins started a charity alongside her congregation, Faith Baptist Church. She told us, “We help the homeless in any way that the Lord will allow us to help. This is our second year of us coming and handing out blessing bags. And this year we’re able to provide more than blessing bags, we’re able to provide clothes. So, it’s just been a humongous blessing that the Lord allowed us to come out here and fellowship with these people and give them the things that they need.”

A spirit of giving filled the air at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center. Mouths were fed, clothing was freely given away, all in the spirit of Christmas.

Jon Rector said, “For this particular opportunity we come out just to love on folks. Hardly a year goes by where somebody doesn’t stop me and first of all thank me for doing this but also ask me to pray with them or share a story about something going on with them and so it’s almost like a family reunion for me.”