Christmas Fiesta - A Community Event

Lunch for the Soul Christmas Fiesta

“The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, ‘look, here it is!’ or ‘there it is!’ for in fact, the kingdom of God is among you” (Luke 17: 20-21).

• Who: The Entire Herndon Community
       What: Lunch for the Soul Christmas Fiesta (lunch is free)
• When: December 24th 11:00 a.m. -1:30 p.m.
• Where: Trinity Presbyterian Church, 651 Dranesville Road, Herndon, Virginia
• Why: Share Christmas as a community of faith that truly resembles the body of Christ.
• http://www.trinityherndon.org/
• Phone: 703-437-5500

The Body of Christ is moving boldly in our community over the Holidays as church congregations working in tandem are acting as seed scatterers, peacemakers, world changers and visionaries. 

On the morning of Christmas Eve, Trinity Presbyterian will host Lunch for the Soul Christmas Fiesta as a “Share Christmas” worship service and lunch with day laborers and their families as well as the churches of Riverside Presbyterian (Sterling) and Oakbrook (Reston). This year 350 people are expected to attend and worship in English and Spanish, eat together and become aware of how the Holy Spirit is enabling them to pass the peace in their community. Congregations from the three churches will set up a huge dining area that will include the sanctuary, narthex and fellowship hall, collect, prepare and cook the meal, provide transportation for their guests and continue the Christmas tradition of offering unconditional love to the local community.

The entire Herndon community is invited to participate in the joy of Christmas at this mid-day Christmas Eve worship service and luncheon. Lunch for the Soul has been an outreach to the day laborer population of Herndon, begun in 2006.  However, for the past few years, the Christmas Fiesta has become a community wide celebration, with almost 350 people joining together from Trinity Presbyterian, Riverside Presbyterian and Oakbrook Church, well as other interested people who desire for a Christmas experience that welcomes the "least of these." 

Food preparation begins at 9 am on December 24th – Trinity will be cooking more than twenty turkeys and ham, plus yams, fiesta rice and bread. 

The church volunteers will depart in private cars to pick up day laborers and anyone else who is interested in joining the luncheon from local coin laundries, markets or homeless shelters.  Guests will arrive at around 11 a.m. to the sanctuary.  A bilingual worship service with festive music accompanied by guitars and brass will begin at 11 a.m. followed by a lunch for all in attendance.

Lunch begins at noon throughout the entire building. Table captains are needed to help bring food to the tables, provide a warm greeting and ensure a sense of welcome.

Guests leave around 1:00 p.m. with a bag of donated non-perishable food items and a gift box, prepared by local youth. 

All are invited to attend this very special fiesta event! There are many ways that you can volunteer and participate in this special day, but the most important thing you can do is to simply come. Greet the men, women and children with a smile. Experience the tastes of Christmas foods from our country and Central America. And together, share Christmas as a community of faith that truly resembles the body of Christ. 

More about Lunch for the Soul:

Since 2006 Trinity has provided the day laborers in our community with a hot, nutritious meal and a Spanish worship service every Wednesday at noon. The pastors from Trinity, Oakbrook Church in Reston, and Riverside Presbyterian in Sterling, VA provide the spiritual food while teams of volunteers from Trinity and Riverside Presbyterian Church prepare and provide the meals. Anywhere from 40-180 people come weekly for lunch and the worship service.

Trinity is responsible for providing the meals on the first and second Wednesdays of the month and every other 5th Wednesday. Volunteers shop on Monday mornings for food. On Tuesdays, they cook the main dish in Trinity’s kitchen. Wednesdays from 10-2 pm volunteers set up tables and audio visual equipment in Fellowship Hall, chop up veggies and fruits for the salads, pick up and return the day laborers, and clean up after the meal is served. Volunteers may come regularly or may want a more occasional schedule. Large numbers of volunteers and chefs are needed the Wednesdays before Thanksgiving and Christmas as the number of guests increase substantially for these events. In-kind food donations as well as financial contributions are welcomed.

Youth and groups can assist on Tuesday evenings or Wednesdays chopping a variety of food and helping with set-up, and assisting with the worship service. Groups and youth are especially needed to help with the Thanksgiving and Christmas meals and service. If you are interested or want further information, please email lunch_for_soul_ldr@trinityherndon.org.

About Trinity Presbyterian: Trinity Presbyterian Church and preschool offers worship, study and ministry services as well as preschool classes for children ages 3-5. The Church continues to partner with local organizations to include LINK, Reston Interfaith, the Jeanie Schmidt Free Clinic and The Closet, as well as national and international missions.

Trinity Presbyterian Church of Herndon symbolizes quite dramatically one of the dominant, new religious overtones of our times - a spirit of Christian unity. The present congregation is the product of two unusual mergers among three historic, former congregations... the Herndon Congregational Church, the First Presbyterian Church of Herndon, and the Floris Presbyterian Church. On July 10, 1949, the Herndon Congregational Church joined with the First Presbyterian Church, resulting in a congregation of 108. Trinity Presbyterian came into being in 1959 when the congregation of Floris Presbyterian joined. 

Since the 1959 merger, resulting in a congregation of 217 persons, the church has expanded and grown considerably. Today, Trinity Presbyterian has a membership of about 750. In 2009, Trinity celebrated its 50th anniversary. Their members come from several surrounding communities. Trinity welcomes diverse interests, backgrounds, and viewpoints in their commitment to serve God and all of God’s creation.