‘You always want to pay it forward’
Bishop’s Dinner a holiday tradition for volunteers, community’s needy
WORCESTER — About a hundred people of all ages gathered in the basement of the Cathedral of St. Paul on Christmas for a warm and hearty meal served by volunteers. Chatter and laughter filled the room while a Santa Claus offered holiday cheer.
The Bishop’s Christmas Dinner has been held for about six decades.
Bishop Robert J. McManus of the Worcester Diocese said he upholds the yearly tradition because it aligns with the Catholic Church’s teachings.
McManus is the fifth Bishop to continue the tradition.
“One of the demands Christ gave to us is that we will be judged at the end of our lives on how we served poor people,” McManus said. “These people, many of them are down bad. This might be the only good meal they have in a few days.”
Members of the church, along with volunteers from the community, cooked and served dinner for the needy and delivered meals to those homebound.
One volunteer, Ginger Cummings, was honoring her late daughter. Volunteering at the Bishop’s Christmas Dinner was something she wanted to do this year, not only to give back to her community but because serving others in need eases some of the pain of missing family members.
“I do it because I lost my daughter last month,” Cummings said. “I couldn’t save her but maybe I can help out somebody here who needs it.”
Soon a line of volunteers — men and women, older and younger — carried plates to the serving stations and then presented them individually to the seated guests.
Another volunteer, Regina Bufaino, in her first time volunteering, said she