Christmas sharing includes good meal

CHERIE TAYLOR | 26th December 2008

Wilhelmina Lawrence can think of nothing better than spending Christmas Day sharing a chat and good food with others.

The 70-year-old Rotorua woman and her husband Barry were among 150 people who shared Christmas lunch put on by St John's Church members yesterday.

Along with ham, chicken, roast vegetables, steamed pudding and Christmas crackers, they shared plenty of fellowship and fun.

"It's very nice to be able to come down and share a meal together," Mrs Lawrence said.

"The food is very good. It's nice they help people and put this on. Some people have nothing to eat or would be very lonely if they didn't come here."

Seated next to her at the table was 21-year-old Michael Hapeta who was stoked about his outing to the church.

"I'd have been at home bored otherwise. I've made lots of friends," he said.

A lady who asked not to be named said without the special luncheon her family would have gone hungry on the festive day. It was her first time at the church.

"All we had in the cupboard was some bread. I didn't even have anything to go on it," she said.

"I'm so grateful we have eaten today. Times are tough and I think they will get tougher. I hope they do this next year."

Lunch organiser Catherine Gettins said it had been a pleasure to be part of the event and she was grateful to the 30 helpers who turned up to help serve food and clean up.

"This is what true Christianity is about, the true spirit of Christmas," she said.

"I give full credit to the community and the members of the church who made this happen. It's been awesome."

Meanwhile, unlike Christmas Eve when hardly a carpark could be found in town and people were rushing from store to store to buy last minute gifts, Rotorua's business hub was a ghost town yesterday, with few cars or people around.

Mall carparks were deserted with only the odd shopping trolley parked up.

However, tourist attractions were another story.

Carparks at Skyline Skyrides and Rainbow Springs were packed.

A staff member from Rainbow Springs, who asked not to be named, said from the moment the doors opened at 8am yesterday there was a "steady stream" of visitors through the doors.

Everyone appeared to be enjoying themselves, she said.

"Everyone has been in a good mood and very happy. It's been nice."

Residents and visitors were on their best behaviour yesterday, according to Rotorua police Senior Sergeant Ed Van Den Broek. He said there were few arrests on Christmas Eve, describing the past two days as "reasonably quiet".