Under red and green twinkling ornaments, community members carried plastic trays piled high with steaming hot brisket, mac and cheese and other holiday foods to their tables on Wednesday.
Lining the decked-out dining room of the Frederick Rescue Mission were food stations, including salads and desserts, a craft table scattered with art supplies, and a table full of prizes, like kids toys and games, for the silent auction.
The Frederick Rescue Mission, in partnership with the Frederick Christian Fellowship Church, held a Christmas party on Wednesday for community members in need to celebrate the holiday.
Photos: Frederick Rescue Mission Christmas Party
Howard Cary, director of local missions at the FCF Church, said on Wednesday that the church has held a Christmas party every year for about 20 years.
He said community partners, such as Hi Lo Auto Parts in Frederick, donated toys to the silent auction, and that members of the church also contributed toys and gift cards.
Cary added that all of the food except for the meats was cooked by members of the church "so that the community can get a home-cooked meal."
"It's such a blessing," he said. "When we do something like this, you really do get more than you give. You don't know that going in, but you really do."
Zeno Onley, 49, said he is from the city of Frederick area. He said the community members support each other and look out for each other.
Onley said he is currently living in a sober living house. He said he came down to the Christmas party "to let everyone know I'm doing OK."
"To be honest, to me, it's like a celebration, getting everybody together," Onley said. "It's just a blessing, that's what it is. That's the big thing in my mind."
He said his favorite part of the holiday meal was the macaroni and cheese. Onley added that he was going to visit his grandchildren after the party.
"We're just going to sit around the house, probably play some games," he said.
Cary said on Christmas Day, about 200 people typically come through the Rescue Mission's dining area. He said the nearby day shelter operated by the Salvation Army was closed on Christmas Day.
Party attendees also had the opportunity to take a photo to be printed so they could take the photo with them.
Keola Evans, a volunteer and a junior business major at the University of Maryland, College Park, was taking photos of community members and printing them out on a handheld printer.
Evans said her grandparents attend FCF Church, and that she was volunteering on her winter break.
"I just like helping people, like volunteering," she said. "I've been volunteering all my life. I like being able to use my skills and give them something to look forward to."
Evans said this is the second year she has volunteered at the Christmas party, and that the printed photos were popular at last year's party.
"Everybody liked it," she said. "They can kind of have a keepsake, so we decided to keep it going."
Stanley Worthington, 63, said he has lived all over Frederick County, and that the community is very tight-knit.
However, he said, a lot of his community in the city of Frederick either moved away or died, and that "there are only a few of us left."
Worthington said much of the community is not actually from Frederick.
"They're still close," he said. "That's what it's all about."
He added that he did not "have to be here, but I stop in because I try to help people out when I can."
Cynde Durant, a volunteer with the FCF Church, said Christmas Day is difficult for so many people.
She said she loves to volunteer because she is "able to serve them and make them feel like they have a friend."
"I look at community as family," Durant said. "They may not directly be my family, but I feel like we're all in this together, life."
She added that she is part of Cary's mission team.
"You know how I look at it? There's still goodness in the world, despite what somebody might be going through or what's happening in the world," Durant said.
Cary said movie-watching and hot chocolate-drinking were scheduled for the afternoon.
He said that the church tries to get into the community about four or five days a week, and that the main goal is to build bridges and relationships.
"While we're giving stuff, we look at being transformational, not transactional," Cary said. "It's cold outside, and we love them. We love this community. I just feel so blessed to be here."
Durant added that while she was not with any of her family members on Christmas Day, she was with her "community family."
"I think if we all bind together, it makes life a little sweeter for us," she said. "This blesses me, that I'm serving a purpose here today."