Worshipping, working, sharing and caring: Faces of North County at Christmas

By: BRADLEY J. FIKES and BRENDA DURAN - Staff Writers | Sunday, December 25, 2005 9:26 PM PST ∞

Christmas with a difference. That's what thousands of people in North County experienced Sunday. Either voluntarily or by necessity, some people didn't have the traditional Hallmark card holiday experience of walking into the living room in stocking feet, ready to experience the joy of watching children open their gifts.

Instead, they worshipped in church, celebrated the day at work, communed with nature, bonded with colleagues to ease the loneliness of being far from home, or generously helped others in need.

Here are some vignettes from some of their lives:

In Escondido, the echoing sound of Christmas carols rang in the halls of the Emmanuel Faith worship center Sunday where more than 500 churchgoers arrived to attend special morning Christmas worship services.

The first of two services held Sunday morning featured an interactive singalong of such songs as "O' Little Town of Bethlehem," "Silent Night" and "The First Noel."

After the songs, churchgoers viewed a short animated film dubbed "A brief history of Christmas," which urged them to remember the birth of Christ in the midst of holiday stress created by shopping.

"This is the one day we can celebrate the birth of Jesus," said Pastor Greg Lane. "It gives people the opportunity to show that they are grateful for what Jesus has done for us."

Worship center coordinator Penny Anderson said the church spread out its six Christmas services ---- four on Saturday and two on Sunday ---- to accommodate the expected larger crowds than usual.

Church organizers expected more than 6,000 visitors during the Christmas weekend, or about 1,000 more than a regular weekend, said Anderson, adding that the weekend services were also shortened to 35 minutes rather than the usual 65 minutes to accommodate large families with small children.

"There are many people coming to church for the first time (on Christmas Day)," said Anderson. "It's a family day that helps many prioritize during the celebrations."

For Valley Center resident Sandra Ortmeir, the visit to the church was a way to make her family's holiday complete.

"It wouldn't be Christmas without visiting church," said Ortmeir, who attended services with her husband and daughter.

Escondido resident Lori Brown, who makes it a tradition to bring her two sons to hear church services every year, walked out of the 35-minute sermon teary-eyed and reflective.

"It's been a very emotional day," said Brown. "It's a challenge every year to remind my kids what Christmas really means. Today was a beautiful gift that I was able to share with my boys and also a reminder of what I need to do in my life."

In nearby San Marcos, firefighters at fire station No. 1 found themselves ringing in the holidays bright and early ---- before sunrise.

In order to celebrate with their families, the 10 firefighters working a full-day shift Christmas Day at the Mission Road station had to rise at about 4 a.m. to 5 a.m. to open presents with their families.

"It's hard to get things done with a crazy schedule, "said firefighter Geoff Weaver.

When the firefighters arrived to work at 8 a.m., they were able to share some holiday spirit with one another, starting with a Christmas breakfast and ending with a gift exchange, said Capt. Kelly Crain.

"Other than that, it's been another regular workday," said Crain.

Most of the firefighters spent Sunday afternoon doing training exercises on a 100-foot ladder, cleaning appliances and stocking supplies in between calls, which were minimal by midnoon.

Last year, the department received 23 calls on Christmas Day, mainly medical emergencies, with three fire calls. The department was expecting a similar day this year, said fire Chief Larry Webb.

Crain said that firefighters' families were invited to spend time at the station in the afternoon as a way to increase family time for many of his staff.

In Carlsbad, a slate-gray morning greeted scores of campers at the popular South Carlsbad State Beach, brightened by splashes of color from Christmas trees and decorative lights strung outside of the RVs parked there.

The campers, who occupied 85 spaces at the beach's southern campground, were mostly inside their RVs in midmorning, but a few were stirring; some jogging, a few surfing, and others having breakfast and looking down at the ocean below the cliffs.

Dale Butler, from the San Bernardino Mountain area, said that although she and her family have "camped here for years," this was the first time they had camped out for Christmas. Asked where their Christmas tree was, the group began giggling and pointed to a very small but decoratively lit artificial tree near the entrance to the lot.

Why camp out for Christmas?

"The weather's nice, and we're all here together," said Rhonda Stensgaard of Big Bear, poking her head out of the RV. "We left the mountains for the beach."

Presents had already been opened, including a Hewlett-Packard laptop computer for Stensgaard's 8-year-old son, Hayden, who was busy checking it out on a picnic table.

Nearby, Gary Hunt of Fullerton looked out over the surf next to his RV, occupied by his wife, MaryAnne. Next to their vehicle: another small ornament and light-bedecked Christmas tree, surrounded by boxes of wrapped presents.

"We've done this several times," Gary Hunt said of North County beach camping. "Our grandson from Florida is here with is, and then our other grandkids will be here momentarily. We used to do a lot of tent camping when the kids were growing up, and we did Christmas more at home. But after we started getting out in a trailer, things became easier for everybody (to meet while camping).

"It seems to be a good draw. It's been a lot of fun. We try to have the presents out for the grandkids before they get here ---- they're all little tykes, so when they get here, it'll be a lot of fun."

MaryAnne Hunt said the family's RV Christmas camping is not the Spartan back-to-nature experience it sounds like.

"It's not really camping when you've got satellite TV and a microwave," she said.

When you're alone on Christmas Day and your family is many miles away, time can go by slowly. That's especially true on the nearly deserted streets of downtown Oceanside for a Marine left to his own devices. Even for a Sunday, it's slow, with most of the shops and bars closed for the holiday.

What gets them through it? Friends, and having something to do.

One of those Marines, Cpl Eric Gorder, was spotted Sunday morning taking a break outside of Bub's Whiskey Dive, a traditional downtown Marine hangout. Gorder was helping clean the place for his friend, manager Charlene Walker. Gorder said he found it satisfying to keep busy over the Christmas weekend.

"We did Toys for Tots (Saturday) where I work at Weapons & Field Battalion, giving out toys to kids who weren't going to have a good Christmas," Gorder said. "Today I was helping out Charlene so she could give some of her employees the day off."

Gorder, from St. Cloud, Minn., said it helps that he comes from a military family that understands that spending holidays away from home is part of military life.

After the work is done, Gorder said he'll be "hanging out with my friends and socializing."

While Gorder was socializing, Lance Cpl. Luke Winkler was walking on Mission Avenue toward the pier and looking at his cellular phone. Winkle, from Great Falls, Mont., said he planned to call his family later in the day. At 19, Winkle said he had been to Iraq twice and is scheduled to go back in June.

"This is the first time I've been away from home for Christmas," Winkle said. "It's not actually that bad, because I have a lot of friends out here, so I'm going to hang out with them."

People with no place to go and no food to eat. Families with no toys to give your children. Generous volunteers who want to help those who do without. All of them appeared at Brother Benno's, a 22-year-old charity in Oceanside named in honor of the late Benno Garrity, a Benedictine monk.

For those with no food, there was a lunch of ham with cranberry sauce, potatoes, sweet potatoes, biscuits and corn. For the children, a stuffed animal and two other new presents. For those with no place to live or little money, a bag of essential hygiene supplies to keep clean.

Nearly 1,000 people had shown up at the center on Distribution Avenue by 1 p.m., said Harold Kutler, the director. Kutler and his wife, Kay, founded the center with Garrity in 1983. About 140 volunteers were on hand to give out the toys and hygiene kits, serve the food and perform other tasks.

"When I got here at 8:30, the line was clear to the end of the block," Harold Kutler said. "They were all families."

Most of the families are from Oceanside, Kutler said, but quite a few are from Vista, and some from San Marcos.

Brother Benno's is on the Web at (www.brotherbennos.org).

Contact Staff Writer Brenda Duran at (760) 761-4408 or bduran@nctimes.com. Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at bfikes@nctimes.com or (760) 739-6641.

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