Glen Ellyn church serves up holiday feast to homeless people

For Bernard Cole, the service was reminiscent of a proper restaurant. Servers brought food to his table for him. He was served drinks and after he had finished eating, the staff took his plates and cleaned up after him.

But Cole was not eating at a restaurant. The servers were volunteers from Glen Ellyn churches and organizations helping feed homeless people at First United Methodist Church on Sunday.

"It felt great," Cole said. "The people were very gracious and kind. Everybody was waiting on us on hand and foot."

Although the church's volunteers serve the homeless each week, this week they went to greater lengths because of Christmas.

"We wanted to do something nice for the holidays," said the Rev. Erin Walley. "We wanted to bring them a traditional Christmas."

Volunteers made most of the dishes - which included mashed potatoes, green beans and several other choices - and area businesses donated 40 pounds of roast beef and a 20-pound turkey.

"We always want to do more than what we normally do (around the holidays)," Walley said. "But it always feels like it's never enough."

"It's like eating at a restaurant," said Senior Pastor Tom Potenza. "For folks who don't get to do that too often, they're pretty grateful."

The shelter has been open for six years and numbers typically go up during the winter, Potenza said. He said the shelter has seen an increase in families who stay at the center, which is open every Sunday from 1:30 to 6 p.m. People usually start lining up to get in at about noon.

"Our main mission is to get people out of the weather," he said. "We have a building and it's open and it's warm."

Cole said it had been a while since he had experienced that kind of service. He has been homeless for nearly a year now after a lower back injury forced him onto disability income.

Three bulging disks in his lower back cause him frequent pain as he sleeps in various area shelters or on the street.

"It's terrible," he said. "Every night, it is at different sites."

But for one afternoon, he could enjoy the day, a warm room and a top-notch meal.