By CHRIS FROST
Eagle Times News Editor
CLAREMONT, N.H. — It was a Merry Christmas at Trinity Church in downtown Claremont, as everyone enjoyed a huge festive community dinner full of old friends and new friends celebrating the birth of Jesus.
Parishioner Robin Whittemann said the church, built in 1842, was hosting the meal because her daughter, Amanda, who volunteers at the Claremont Soup Kitchen, found out there wouldn’t be a meal on Thanksgiving or Christmas day.
“I called, and they were closed, so I got it in my head to have a good old community meal,” she said. “Our food has been donated by Willing Hands of Vermont, the Claremont Soup Kitchen and other community members.”
The menu was full of choices.
“On the menu today, we have fresh-cooked ham, turkey, scalloped and mashed potatoes, broccoli, vegan lentils and stuffing, turkey gravy, squash apple mash, seviche, cucumber, kale and arugula salad with crushed figs and blackberries,” she said. “We also have mac and cheese.”
Pastor Elizabeth Moriarity said the meal at the wood-frame, gothic-style church is definitely a feast.
“I was invited by the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire to come and be part of an experiment of a new way of doing ministry and work not just in this Trinity building but in the broader Claremont community,” she said. “In doing that, I’ve done about 140 one-on-ones and started learning there was a tremendous need. People aren’t hungry just for good food, but they are hungry for fellowship and connection. That includes myself. I’ve only lived in Claremont for four months, and I was going to be alone on Christmas, and I’m from a big family.”
She’s also learned about encampments and people losing homes because of rent subsidies ending.
“We aspire to create a festive, beautiful meal,” she said. “This is our second one; we did one on Thanksgiving. To me, Christmas is about love being embodied and born.”
Moriarity said Trinity Church is a small worship community, and notes celebrating with meals shouldn’t just be on Sunday morning.
“The thing that always binds us together are meals,” she said. “We have this beautiful parish hall; we are right in the town’s center across from Broad Street Park, and in past incarnations, Trinity’s tagline was Claremont’s favorite front lawn. We would have hot chocolate, chili, and yard sales. There’s a long benefit of hospitality in this church, and we’re looking for new ways to share that.”
She said the church plans to host monthly meals so people can eat, pray, enjoy community and reflect.
“Incorporate different kinds of worship that would invite different kinds of people who don’t feel connected on Sunday mornings, so maybe they’ll come on Thursday evening,” she said.
She cooked six turkeys, five hams, and sauces for the ham and turkey gravy in the church’s oven.
“We also kept our scrapes and made our vegetable turkey stock,” she said. “We’ve been preparing for six days.”
Claremont resident Carol Wilson served everyone with a classic Santa apron.
“I’ve been attending this Church since 1946,” she said. “I was baptized, confirmed and married here. I volunteer here a lot.”
Gary Respess served meats and admitted he’d never worked in a restaurant.
“I like helping people out,” he said.
Karen Lipinszyk loves that everyone is invited to the community meal.
“Not everyone is a meat eater anymore, so there are amazing vegan dishes to compliment the traditional dishes,” she said.
Allison Zito said Whittemann had done a magnificent job.
“We’re lucky to have her here in Claremont,” she said. “I used to volunteer at a local Church when my son was a little guy, and we had lovely food, but there were never any vegetarian options.”
State Representative Hope Damon prepared home-grown kale for the community dinner and said she loves spreading Christmas cheer.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with people, and we as a society need to do a lot more to address hunger, and this is one piece of doing that,” she said. “The folks who organized this did a super job.”
Trinity Church is located at 120 Broad Street. For more information about the church, visit trinityclaremont.org.
As your daily newspaper, we are committed to providing you with important local news coverage for Sullivan County and the surrounding areas.