The arctic wind battered the tent and sent clothing and toys flying off tables, but masked church volunteers defied the chill and the pandemic Thursday to provide a hot meal, toys, and warm clothing for needy Gary residents.

They gathered in an empty lot, one block west of Broadway on Washington Street and 11th Avenue in the heart of a low-income housing neighborhood.

Members of Pinnacle of Faith Church, in Gary, were joined by churches in Porter and LaPorte counties to serve chili and hot dogs for an anticipated 300 people.

“We are determined to feed the hungry and to be a blessing to the community,” said Pinnacle Pastor Tommy Dolton, whose church, at 900 Arizona St., has organized the Christmas Eve event for 26 years.

He said the wind forced volunteers to remake its shelter, but they soldered on, preparing to-go meals guests could take home to avoid the cold.

“We do this because we believe the church ought to be sharing the love of Christ in action,” Assistant Pastor Terrence Harvey said. He said the church has been offering meals in the vacant lot all year.

LaTanga Hill and her cousin, Erick Morris, both of Gary, saw the event promoted on social media and decided to stop by. They grabbed to-go meals and thanked volunteers for brightening their Christmas Eve.

Hill lost her job as a truck dispatcher in April after the pandemic hit, and said she’s just been able to get by with her unemployment benefits.

She hasn’t lost hope, though. She enrolled in a free Ivy Tech program funded by a state workforce grant called Next Level Jobs that provides skills and certificates for students in several different fields from advanced manufacturing to nursing.

Hill just finished her first semester and she plans to apply at Alliance Steel in Gary.

Volunteer Lisa Pavlopoulos, of Hobart, said they collected 13 dozen cookies and warm clothing for children and adults to go with the hot dogs, chili, hot cocoa and coffee.

Kelly Goodpaster, of Kouts, who attends Liberty Bible Church in Chesterton, stood over a wood-fired grill cooking hot dogs.

“This is an awesome bunch of folks over here,” he said.

Co-workers at his factory, Regal Beloit in Valparaiso, provided some of the toys, including bicycles.

His wife, Sue Goodpaster, said her church connected with Pinnacle of Faith about six years ago at a Lake-Porter-LaPorte county outreach event called “Revive Indiana.”

She said churches have joined forces to assist each other in their missions to their community.

“Our main purpose is to show people hope,” she said.

Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter.