December 1, 2025 | Robert Cavanaugh | 15 min read.
United Methodist Church, Washington Street, Peabody. Photographed by Claudia DePaola, November 1983.
Let me introduce you to a Peabody event that began in 1969 and lasted until 1991 called the Community Christmas Party. At its peak, the event served around 200 people on Christmas Day. We made it known that everyone was invited, whether you celebrated the holiday or not. Many residents from the local synagogues and temples were an integral part of the festivities, volunteering to help in the kitchen or wherever needed.
Remember that in 1969 there was no Haven from Hunger, or church food pantries such as those that exist today. The Council on Aging was located in the basement of the Knights of Columbus building on Main Street.
At that time, the United Methodist Church on Washington Street was pastored by a young man from Australia who was a doctoral candidate in Boston. He explained that it was customary back home to have town-wide Christmas parties in several communities because people were unable to travel long distances quickly and easily to their homes in that vast country. Reverend Preston proposed a community party for Peabody, with the enthusiastic support of some of his parishioners and their friends.
Letter to Church Leaders and Service Organizations of Peabody, Reverend Noel Preston, Methodist Parsonage, December 5, 1969. Peabody Historical Society and Museum Collections.
Getting started:
The first party in 1969 was quite modest. One family bought and roasted a turkey; someone backed a ham; others brought veggies, stuffing and gravy. Others were asked to supply a dessert and coffee, soda, or cider. Someone in the group suggested inviting the Lamy family to come to lead singing and entertain the guests. The Lamys were a Peabody family that was quite exceptional; mother, father, and each of their children had musical talent. The little impromptu party was a tremendous success. Everyone spoke of repeating it next year; and so it was. And the number of people attending had grown a bit as well.
Assorted newspaper clippings of the Community Christmas Party at the United Methodist Church Hall, December 25, 1975. Peabody Historical Society and Museum Collections.
Each year, the party had a few more guests, and progressively more support. Through coverage in the local newspapers – The Peabody Times, The Salem Evening News, and the Lynn Daily Item – and by former guests, the word got out. The vibrant Peabody Clergy Association received letters from the organizing committee requesting that they announce the event in their respective parish bulletins after Thanksgiving, and many did.
Unfortunately, the Methodist suffered a devastating fire in 1976 which resulted eventually in a need to raze the building and to replace it with a similar one. This was a huge problem and challenge for the parishioners, and became a major concern for the committee planning that year’s Christmas Day party: would there be a gathering this year, and it so, where?
Saint Vasilios Greek Orthodox Church, Paleologos St, Peabody. Date and photographer unknown.
Move to St. Vasilios:
Our good friend, Fr. Andrew Demotses, pastor of St. Vasilios Greek Orthodox Church, came quickly to our rescue. Hi pointed out that the church had just build a large, modern, comfortable education center with a huge multi-purpose hall and gym. ‘The building is empty on December 25 and would love to have company,’ he said. The kitchen was a dream-come-true for those who would be coordinating and serving the meal.
It would now be so much easier to accommodate the many volunteers who would be delivering the foods they had prepared at home. Now the volunteers in the kitchen had plenty of room to accept and combine the various vegetables, desserts, gravy, etc. One of the fellows in the kitchen, Charlie Angelakis, was a professional chef and made short work of showing people how to carve the turkeys and slice the hams. Many of the clergy showed up to help serve the meal.
Filling a need for over twenty years:
Over the years, the event grew in size and popularity. Posters were put in pubs and taverns in Peabody and were offered to motels along route 1 to inform people that there was a place to go on Christmas Day “if they had no other place to be that day”. Our intent was always to make sure that no one in Peabody would spend that day alone. There was no charge or explanation needed as to why one came to the part. Some guests insisted on giving a donation (during the first couple of years, a 25 cent donation was asked). In later years, we left a basket where they could leave an offering if they chose, though it was never encouraged, thanks to the generosity of several people, businesses, and churches who supported the event.
Catherine Stanton, Methodist Church Hall, Washington Street, Peabody. Photographic print, circa 1975. Peabody Historical Society and Museum Collections.
Since there were no local organizations open on Christmas evening, each and every year, our faithful kitchen crew wrapped up the leftovers and my brother and I drove the food to Boston to the several agencies there which served the needy: the Pine Street Inn, Rosie’s Place, St. Francis House, etc. The food was very much appreciated. Any funds that people insisted on leaving over the years went to help the needy elsewhere.
Coming to a close:
Naturally, we were all getting older and Peabody was changing too. On Wallis street, a new organization – Haven from Hunger – came into being, offering food and meals to those experiencing difficulty. The new, and today vey popular, Torigian Senior Center was built. Among other things, it provided meals on a regular basis, including special festive meals celebrating Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other holidays, usually in advance of the holiday itself. With that in mind, it was decided in 1991 to celebrate our Community Christmas Party for the last time.
We all have so many special memories of those days. It was a great suggestion that Rev. Preston (whose first name incidentally is Noel!) had some 50+ years ago. I’m sure he had no idea how much he contributed to the Peabody Story.