Christmas Day at CFL 2010
By Esther Smith
Christmas 2010 at Caring For Life Christmas Day involves an early start at Caring For Life. The staff and volunteers who are picking people up to celebrate Christmas Day at the farm travel all across Leeds and the surrounding area to bring people to a Christmas Day service and then up to Crag House Farm. Whilst all this is happening, other staff are busy caring for the livestock at the farm.
Pete Washburn, our Granary chef, was cooking this year, along with Pat Clegg, one of CFL’s trustees. On Christmas Eve, the Centre at the farm had been cleaned down, the tables had been beautifully laid out with Christmas cloths, napkins and crackers and bottles of Schloer, along with chocolate–filled favours made by Wendy, one of our supporters. Another supporter had also sent jars filled with chocolates, so there was no shortage of chocolate treats on the table! Party poppers were scattered around and each person had a special snowman-illustrated name card at their place on the tables.
The vegetables had been prepared on Christmas Eve and everything was ready for our special guests.
The Christmas Day service was a truly happy occasion, only marred by one young lady having a seizure outside the Hall, neccesitating an ambulance and a trip to hospital. However, she was well enough by the afternoon to be picked up from hospital and to enjoy the dinner and presents which had been saved for her.
An absolutely delicious Christmas lunch was served to everyone, a turkey meal with all the trimmings and with special diets catered for. An array of puddings followed and a huge amount of food was devoured. It was clear that some of the guests were genuinely hungry and they really enjoyed their meal.
After lunch, everyone received a personal gift which had been specially purchased and wrapped for them, with their likes and dislikes in mind. Various games and films were then enjoyed, before tea was served, and another colossal amount of food was devoured, with lots of people also taking “doggy bags” home.
Alongside all this excitement, many very quiet conversations took place, and there were quite a number of ladies and gentlemen present who had never been at CFL for Christmas Day before. They had arrived very quiet and nervous, but all found a friendly member of staff or volunteer waiting to chat with them, to listen and to draw them into conversation.
One gentleman who usually spends Christmas Day alone was absolutely thrilled by the whole day and said it was a day he would never forget. A very fragile lady talked and talked when she had opportunity, and was very excited to discover that some of the friends she had been at school with were connected with CFL.
We discovered that Christmas Day was also the birthday of one young lady, so she enjoyed being sung to, blowing out birthday candles in her Australian Christmas Pudding .. a delicious ice cream made by Pat, a dessert which has become a CFL firm favourite. Then another young lady mentioned it is her birthday on Boxing Day, so the candles reappeared and we all sang happy birthday to her as well.
As everyone was taken home, the “clear up” job began, but the Centre was fairly soon put back to rights. Finally, staff and volunteers were able to go home and put their feet up for a while, or to travel to visit their own families, safe in the knowledge that some very vulnerable people who would otherwise have been alone know they are very much part of the Caring For Life family, know they are loved and now also know the meaning of “Emmanuel”, God with us.
Our prayer is that those in CFL’s care will feel more able to face a new year, knowing that they are loved and that CFL will always seek to just “be there” for them. .
