That gathering along 15th SW just south of SW Roxbury earlier this afternoon was a special Christmas meal, explains Mary Anne deVry from Westside Interfaith Network, who tells WSB it was “served jointly by a group of Jews, Muslims, and Christians for homeless and low-income people on the westside. They are part of WIN.” She continued:

A bit of background: Every Saturday for years, the WIN group of churches has been serving a hot meal and providing clothing, coats, shoes, blankets, backpacks, hygiene products — whatever is needed — for local homeless people and exceedingly low-income people. At 11:30 AM we set up our canopy tents and tables in the parking lot on south side of Bartells, SW Roxbury and 15 Ave SW; then provide food and needed items from 12-2 PM–or until we run out of food. Currently we are averaging 120-150 “guests” each Saturday. Incidentally, the majority of our guests live unsheltered 24/7–including families. Some are on Social Security or Disability and subsist on $50-100/month after paying rent; many eat only once a day and live without heat. There are a significant number of immigrants who are fearful of obtaining help from food banks or any agencies, so they come each Saturday for necessities — food/toilet paper/diapers etc. We call our meal The Welcome Table. We welcome anyone who wants to share a meal with us.

On past Christmas Days, we have served a meal and given out shopping bags filled with needed “gifts.” It took volunteers away from worship, family, and friends, but the effort was worth it.

This year I was approached by people from West Seattle’s Kol HaNeshamah synagogue saying they would like to provide the Christmas meal so their Christian friends could celebrate their sacred holiday. About the same time, Aneelah Afzali (a West Seattle resident) from the Muslim Association of Puget Sound/MAPS, offered to work with Jewish friends to give Christian friends a day off. Simultaneously, some Christian families asked if they could help with the meal … because they felt serving vulnerable neighbors expressed the real Spirit of Christmas. … It is a special blessing in this splintered society, that a bunch of Jews, Muslims, and Christians are joyfully working together. … This meal is one step — of many steps — we take together to overcome the fear and hatred of our fractured world.