The recent season was filled with hope with ‘one of the largest Christmas outreach efforts in the region’
By Michael Cooney | For On Mission
OSHKOSH, WI — On Christmas Day, while many families gather around their own tables, another kind of table is being set across Oshkosh and throughout Winnebago County — one that stretches beyond walls, circumstances, and judgment. At the center of that table is Father Carr’s Place 2B, where faith becomes tangible in the form of hot meals, open doors, and quiet acts of love.
For Jay Schaefer, Christmas Day doesn’t begin with unwrapping gifts. It begins with phone calls.
“My wife Patty and I coordinate the distribution of the meals,” Schaefer said. “People call Father Carr’s on Easter, Christmas, and Thanksgiving. They leave their name, address, phone number, and how many meals they need. Then we have these wonderful volunteers who actually deliver the meals.”
That simple system — names carefully written down, addresses entered into a computer, volunteers stepping forward — has sustained one of the largest Christmas outreach efforts in the region. This past Christmas Day, December 25, 2025, more than 1,200 meals were prepared and delivered, with calls still coming in as the day unfolded. On Thanksgiving, that number reached over 2,000 meals.
Schaefer and his wife have coordinated the Christmas Day dinner program for about five years, after volunteering for five years before that. What keeps them coming back isn’t efficiency or recognition — it’s people.
“The most satisfying part is seeing this,” he said, gesturing toward the bustling Saint Mother Teresa Center. “Seeing all these people who want to help. Maybe they don’t want to be the ones in charge — that’s a big step — but they want to serve. Sometimes you have to put a little more on yourself so all these people can help. Without those few core people, this couldn’t exist.”
On Christmas Day, that “few core people” expands into a living community of 150 to 200 volunteers — families, longtime supporters, and first-timers alike. Some organize food. Others pack meals. Some load cars and head out across the county, delivering not just dinner, but dignity.
For Karen Boehm and her daughter Sami, the day is about connection.
“The best part of today is being in community with so many amazing people with very generous hearts,” Boehm said. “And meeting others in your community — it’s a special opportunity to visit and celebrate the holidays together.”
For her, service is inseparable from faith.
“It makes Christmas feel more like it’s about Jesus,” she said. “There’s a way we can encounter people and share in the love Christmas is about. We get to help people know that Jesus came into the world for them too.”
That message — quiet, unforced, and personal — is echoed by those delivering meals door to door.
Mike Duron volunteered for the first time on Thanksgiving and returned for Christmas.
“I was astounded by how many meals needed to be given out,” he said. “It was humbling. On one side, it made me sad to see how many people need meals. On the other side, I was happy I could help in some small way.”
Duron spoke of gratitude — for what he’s been given, and for being part of a community willing to respond.
“I’m grateful for what God has blessed our family and our community with — all these volunteers helping out.”
At Father Carr’s, the spiritual foundation of the work is never far from the surface. Fr. David Duffeck, chaplain at Father Carr’s, offered a reminder to volunteers that frames the entire day.
“Every single person is loved by God,” he said. “There’s no situation in their lives that God doesn’t reach out to.”
For Fr. Duffeck, the mission is simple and demanding at the same time.
“We don’t judge. We just deliver,” he said. “Our job is to be Christ-centered. To bring a message of God’s love into the loneliness and circumstances of people’s lives. To grant them dignity as a child of God.”
That message is lived out in small exchanges — a smile at the door, a few words shared, a meal handed over with care.
For Mark Nelsen, that exchange has been part of his family’s Christmas tradition for decades.
“My wife and I have been doing this for more than 30 years,” he said. “When our kids were born, they came along. It’s always been a family event.”
Nelsen spoke about the kind of wealth that can’t be measured.
“The richest person in the world could never buy the love and compassion you give when you hand food to someone who needs it,” he said. “That’s true love.”
As Christmas Day moves toward afternoon, meals continue to leave Father Carr’s Place 2B. Volunteers keep coming back for more delivery routes. New names are added to the list. The work doesn’t rush — and it doesn’t stop.
For Schaefer, that steady rhythm is exactly the point.
“It’s spiritual,” he said. “But it’s also just doing the right thing. Using the gifts you’ve been given properly.”
On Christmas Day at Father Carr’s Place 2B, faith doesn’t announce itself loudly. It shows up quietly — one phone call, one volunteer, one meal at a time.