Volunteers help God 'pour a special blessing of Christmas joy' into 300 delivered meals

Fifteen volunteers joined hands as they prepared an estimated 300 Christmas Day meals for homebound folks, and Carrie Harper's prayer reminded them of their purpose.

She concluded, "Father, we thank You for Your love, for Your strength and for Your mercy. And we ask for every plate that goes out of here today, that You pour a special blessing of Christmas joy."

They gathered Friday morning in the kitchen of the Damascus Way Home for Women and Children. Another crew delivered the food, provided by the Valley Rescue Mission, so volunteers who normally staff the Meals on Wheels program could have the day off to celebrate the holiday with their families.

Most of the volunteers for this effort are members of St. John AME Church, including Harper, who started when her three adult children were youngsters.

"I brought them here to teach them to give back," she said. "Now, they've graduated college and they're on their own, but they still come back."

No wonder Harper beamed with pride.

"It means I did my job as a mom," she said. "You want to raise good citizens. You want to teach them the meaning of 'To whom much is given much is required.' You've got to live that; you just can't say that."

Doug McLeod, who helps prepare the Thanksgiving meals as well, attends Trinity Episcopal Church, but he noted it doesn't matter where you worship when you're doing God's work.

"All these people, we've become a family," he said. "I don't see them but twice a year, but we love each other and we laugh with each other."

When his father, Kelley, died in 1989, McLeod didn't have relatives left in Columbus. He called the Valley Rescue Mission to ask how he could help on Thanksgiving and Christmas. He was told they already had enough volunteers. So he made sure he called earlier the next year, and he has been volunteering during the holidays ever since.

His mother, Julia, taught him to serve, not to be served.

"I was determined I was not going to stay at my house in silence," said McLeod, a retired insurance agent who now does house detailing. " I'm not any better than anyone. I just love Columbus, Georgia."

Mark Rice, 706-576-6272. Follow him on Twitter@MarkRiceLE.

This story was originally published December 25, 2015 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Volunteers help God 'pour a special blessing of Christmas joy' into 300 delivered meals ."