Church Ready to Serve as Home for Holidays

It all started with a lonely Catholic priest in Paris on Christmas Day.

Everything was closed that day more than 20 years ago, so he sadly walked back to his hotel room and spent the holiday by himself vowing to never let that happen to his parishioners back home.

The legacy of the late Msgr. Desmond Quinn lives on today in the form of a Christmas dinner at St. Hedwig Church in Los Alamitos. For 20 years, volunteers from the parish and community have been spending their Christmas Day setting up, preparing food and welcoming those with no place to go on this day where the importance of family and friends is stressed so many times throughout the season.

And as the years go by, children have become an important part of this community affair.

“It’s not just the older people getting involved in this--there’s the younger parishioners,” said Karen Duzich, who has worked in the rectory for about 15 years. “People are bringing their children with them to clean off the tables, greet people,” and perform other small yet important duties.

This year, Rich and Pamela Carr are coordinating the dinner and they will be bringing along their two children, 11-year-old Taylor and 7-year-old Nick, both students at the Catholic school on site.

“It kind of teaches them that there are other things in life besides themselves,” said Rich Carr, a police detective for Long Beach. “They’re looking forward to it.”

The work begins at 10 a.m. when volunteers start setting up the kitchen. Guests begin streaming in about 1:30 p.m. and as many as 250 can show up.

Carr said his duties this year will be “doing whatever my wife tells me to do.”

Last year, it turned out to be a “loaves and fishes” type event when the food seemed like it was on the verge of running out, according to Monica Rogerson, who first came to the dinner with her husband and mother 10 years ago when their kids were spending the holidays elsewhere.

She remembers how they went from not having enough food last Christmas to sending some turkey and ham home with the guests and even donating leftovers to local shelters.

“It was like the dog-patch ham,” the longtime volunteer said. “You just kept carving on it and it just kept coming.”

To donate food, gifts or volunteer, call (714) 898-2948 or (562) 493-6765.

Ana Cholo-Tipton can be reached at (714) 966-5890.