AUGUSTA — Richard Ouellette had barely knocked on the door of the second-story apartment while delivering free dinners Christmas Day with his wife, Susan, when he heard a hearty “Merry Christmas” from John Westberg as he opened the door.

Westberg said he would have normally been at church Christmas morning, but after learning some friends of his had nowhere to go for Christmas, he invited them to his place.

Westberg then called to order three Christmas dinners to share with them, which were delivered as part of the annual Community Christmas Dinner that for the past few years has been based out of South Parish Congregational Church at 9 Church St. in Augusta.

“I was planning on going to church, but I heard from a couple of friends who had nowhere to go, so they’re coming here,” the gregarious Westberg said after Ouellette, a volunteer meal delivery driver, gave him the three full turkey dinners. “We’ll have a (church) service here this morning, instead.”

Westberg — and others receiving meals Sunday morning — expressed great appreciation.

“This is kindness. It’s love and joy and peace,” Westberg said. “And isn’t this the season to express that?”

The Ouellettes of Chelsea took a break from their own family’s Christmas observances Sunday to deliver Christmas meals in the Augusta area, and planned to have a family dinner at their daughter’s house later, including with their 2- and 4-year-old grandsons, one of whom went along with them delivering meals last year. The couple said delivering the meals is important and rewarding.

“People are just happy to see that someone cares about them,” Richard Ouellette said. “It gives us more than we can get.”

“This is our Christmas present,” Susan Ouellette added.

She said a meal delivery from a previous year moved her deeply. It was to a woman whose husband was dying. They had their last Christmas meal together in bed.

“Everyone is appreciative,” Susan Ouellette, “but that one really got to me.”

One man to whom the Ouellettes delivered at a Water Street apartment said he was an Army veteran who served in Vietnam. His door was decorated with a wreath and he greeted the Ouellettes with a “Merry Christmas” as they arrived. He also helped them find the apartment of his neighbors, who had also requested Christmas dinners.

One woman who requested meals for herself and her adult son said she greatly appreciated the free meal because she was divorced recently and times are tough.

Back at South Parish Congregational Church, a couple of dozen volunteers worked to prepare, cook, package and serve meals, continuing the long-standing free dinner for the community, which began with in-person meals, but since the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic and heightened awareness of the potential for spreading illness, is now served as a takeout meal brought to the curbside or, for those who call ahead, by delivery.

The meal’s main cook, Keith Priest, who has been preparing the dinners for about 20 years, said volunteers could do up to 600 meals on Christmas Day.

Organizer Carlene Kaler said volunteers had been there since early morning, including a mom with an 8-year-old son who prepared the rolls and butter, and a crew of four volunteers was expected after the dinner ended — about 1 p.m. — to help with cleanup.

While South Parish Congregational Church has been the host site of the annual Community Christmas Dinner for the past few years, the dinner giveaway is a tradition going back about 40 years, Kaler said, and the volunteers are from all over the community.

“It’s people in this community,” she said of volunteers. “Everybody just comes together.”

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