St. John the Evangelist Lutheran Church in Lansford has monthly Feed the People community dinners.

Most months 40-50 people attend, said Rita Trucios, director of Feed the People.On Wednesday, about 100 people crowded into the church activity hall for the December Feed the People event.Trucios said it was so crowded, the door had to be locked because there was no more room for people to sit."It was a wonderful turnout," Trucios said of the last such dinner of the year. The next one will be held on March 19 and will be the fifth anniversary celebration of the program.Trucios said this month's dinner was all but ordinary.Not only did more people attend than ever before, but ham that was purchased for the event was bad. As a result, a quick purchase of more ham was needed.Besides ham, the church served cooked carrots, salad, potatoes and dessert.She said normally the December program has more attendance than others throughout the year, but there never was a turnout like this.They included families, senior citizens and people living alone.She said about 10 volunteers helped serve the meals.The Rev. Marjorie Keiter, pastor of the church, said the next big event at the church will be a special "Longest Night/Blue Christmas" service at 7

p.m.Dec. 21.Keiter said of that special service, "As the days grow shorter, our spirits may be sinking. We feel the darkness growing deeper around us."We need encouragement to live the days ahead of us, and we want to remember the birth of Jesus even when we may not feel joyful."