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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Johnson City’s oldest homeless shelter served its traditional Christmas meal for the 49th year on Monday.
Pastor Grant Rockley told News Channel 11 that the organization prepared to feed 4,000 people; and that the organization had served about half of those in its first hour.
Preparing for such a large crowd takes time and effort for Haven of Mercy staff and volunteers.
“We’ve been started since five this morning, and we’ve been working for six days,” Rockley said.
But the effort is well worth it, Rockley said, because of the connections created and fostered between old friends, former shelter residents and new attendees.
“I see folks that I’ve ministered to and helped over many years come back,” Rockley said. “Ways we always get to hug and make up.”
Guests attending for the meal say the Haven of Mercy is just as special to them as it is to Rockley.
One former resident, Kim Lomax, told News Channel 11 that services provided by Haven of Mercy saved her life when she arrived in Johnson City during an April cold snap.
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“A friend of mine brought me here and they gave me a place to stay. If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t be here,” said Lomax.
Lomax joined the traditional Christmas meal this year, though she’s no longer staying at the shelter.
Native residents aren’t the only ones enjoying the community feel.
“Me and my son don’t really have any family in the area,” volunteer Julie Robertson told News Channel 11. “I really wanted him to see how life is for a lot of other people.”
Robertson said a simple Google search helped her find Haven of Mercy.
She and her son have made the ministry’s Thanksgiving and Christmas meals part of their Christmas tradition, in part due to the opportunity to give joy.
“We hand them the food or when they come in from the cold, I see that smile,” Robertson said. “It just does something in my heart.”
