Moravian College took time out Dec. 7 to give back to the community. Students, faculty and staff served a holiday meal to about 150 of Bethlehem's neediest people at the Cathedral Church of the Nativity in South Bethlehem.

Sam Demyan, 18, was one of the servers ladling hot food to the line of people moving in front of him. He said he is a freshman at Moravian. He was serving beside his mother, Kim Demyan who is a librarian at the college.

"I like to help out in the community," Sam said. "We've got everything; they don't."

Moravian College President Bryan Grigsby said the annual event is a way for students to learn to be responsible adults.

"It's important for college students who need to learn to give back the community as they move into adulthood," said Grigsby, who accepted the president's job this summer. "This is practical experience."

Also serving on the food line was Victoria Rich, assistant director of annual giving for Moravian College. On the same line were Ken and Pat Hanna, both alumni of the college.

Lea Glembot and Eliza Grigsby from Northern Virginia served squares of thickly iced cake. Eliza is College President Grigsby's daughter.

Shelby Smith, Shirley Cox and Howard Cox were in charge of a long table with a selection of bread. Shirley Cox is former piano teacher at Moravian and Howard Cox is a former teacher at the Moravian Seminary.

The event was coordinated by 22-year-old student Kayla Poole, a senior at Moravian majoring in early childhood education and psychology and volunteer coordinator at the college.

Poole and Katie Dantsin, director of leadership development in Moravian's Center for Leadership and Service, watched as the Sayre Chapel dining room filled up with people.

There were infants in mother's arms and there were preschool children seated in the dining room enjoying a hot meal.

Among the diners were Ledetcie Diaz, Eduardo Perez and Jimmy Souders. Diaz said all three are Bethlehem residents.

Diaz, who kept her personal belongs in several packages near her chair, said she and her friend, Perez, stay in separate shelters. She also said they have to keep moving between six different shelters.

She said they can only stay one night in each shelter; then they have to be out of the shelter each morning to spend the day on the streets then check into another shelter at night.

However, the group seemed in good spirits as they enjoyed their meal and some conversation.

"The food's good," said Perez, still wearing his stocking cap and a coat.

According to Dantsin, this is the 15th year that Moravian College has hosted this event. She said the college distributes tickets for the meal to some of the area's organizations that minister to the needy and the homeless. Other tickets go to a couple of Bethlehem elementary schools.

Participating sponsoring organizations, according to Dantsin, are New Bethany Ministries, Trinity Episcopal Church, Turning Point, Fountain Hill Family Center and Cathedral Church of the Nativity, which hosts the event.