Pinetown Catholic Church holds Christmas party for less fortunate.

The Christmas Party Feeding Scheme

The parishioners of Pinetown Catholic Church and the church’s feeding scheme team came together to host an annual Christmas-themed party on Saturday, December 16.

This was the first Christmas party since the global pandemic and the biggest turnout yet, with over 200 people in the crowd. The church relied on donations from parishioners for the feeding scheme. Nomusa Zulu, head of the church’s feeding scheme ministry, also wrote letters to local supermarket chains, but only one responded. The church’s parishioners donated food and presents for the attendees.

Zulu typed and prepared invites to hand out to the public. Those who cannot read relied on word of mouth from family, friends and the church.

The 12-member feeding scheme team, headed by Zulu, has been planning for the Christmas party since September and started preparing on Friday, December 15, at 06:00. “There truly are some dedicated parishioners,” said Rita Swartz, a member of the feeding scheme team.

Zulu also reaches out to the community during the weekend masses at Pinetown Catholic Church, where she announces information about the feeding schemes, which are held on Tuesdays and Sundays, and encourages the parishioners to make donations to the church. The consistent feeding schemes are how some attendees heard about the Christmas party.

The church Christmas party feeding scheme was very successful. “I am so happy; it went very well. I want to thank the church,” said Zulu. There were no hiccups and not an ounce of anxiety.

“Everyone was the best. We’ve been really and truly blessed,” said Swarz. One can say that it was a blessed process indeed. The parishioners did a great job of making the public feel welcome.

Also read: Feeding scheme battling to stay open

Christmas from a different perspective

Many parishioners mentioned spending Christmas in the comfort of their homes and with their families, while it is the opposite for the Christmas party feeding scheme attendees. One attendee mentioned not having a family to spend Christmas with. Instead, he spends it with the person he lives with. Another attendee mentioned celebrating Christmas with his family and going to church. He would do anything to make his family happy, but now he does not know what to do. The Christmas party reminds him of his childhood and spending time with his family, but it also hurts because he cannot get that experience back. He spends his life clinging to past moments of happiness.

The congregation of children included children of parishioners and that of the public. There were tables outside for the children to socialise, where Santa Claus made an appearance.

Many attendees, who walked a long distance to get to the church, were excited before the Christmas party. However, some were anxious because once they saw the turnout of the crowd, there was a sense of concern about whether there would be enough food. There was, however, more than enough food for everyone.

Also read: Festive fundraiser a success

Seeing the church reaching out to the public was beautiful, however, this being the biggest turnout so far is not a good thing. It shows the pandemic’s effects and our country’s current economic state. It is important to remember that living in poverty is never a choice and that accepting help requires bravery. This was a beautiful experience, but the attendees are headed back to the isolation of poverty while many of the feeding scheme team are headed back to the comfort of their homes. Let us hope feeding schemes become an integral part of society, not just done in the vainness of the Christmas spirit.

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