JEWISH TEMPLE STAFFS A HOLIDAY MEAL FOR THE COMMUNITY.Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer THOUSAND OAKS Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. - Roy Belfor almost spent Christmas alone. The Thousand Oaks tutor, who spends his days teaching art to disabled children, had no family to share his dinner with. Not relishing the prospect of eating alone, he headed to the Conejo Community Holiday Dinner. Now in its ninth incarnation incarnation, the assumption of human form by a god, an idea common in religion. In early times the idea was expressed in the belief that certain living men, often kings or priests, were divine incarnations. , the annual festival did not disappoint dis·ap·point v. dis·ap·point·ed, dis·ap·point·ing, dis·ap·points v.tr. 1. To fail to satisfy the hope, desire, or expectation of. 2. . ``I don't really have anywhere to go at Christmas,'' he said, forking through a plateful of pecan pie. ``I'm alone at the moment, so it's nice to just have something to do. I'd just be home by myself while everyone is celebrating, so this gives me a chance to be with people.'' Five hundred people, by coordinator Wendy Erlanger's estimation estimation In mathematics, use of a function or formula to derive a solution or make a prediction. Unlike approximation, it has precise connotations. In statistics, for example, it connotes the careful selection and testing of a function called an estimator. . Sponsored by Temple Adat Elohim, the event brought a diverse crowd to dine at Thousand Oaks High School's cafeteria cafeteria: see restaurant. . Young and old, alone and with friends, they came needing no invitation and found no check to pay. Though held on Christmas Day, Erlanger saw nothing unusual about the temple's sponsorship of a Christian event. ``People need a place to be on Christmas,'' she said, hailing attendees with warm greetings. ``Lots of us volunteers are Jewish, so we're not doing anything today anyway. We want to make a difference, so we thought this was a good way to do it.'' Originally conceived independently by congregants Joyce and Donn Delson, the event grew in size annually until the temple took it on itself. Erlanger starts planning the event in September, signing on 100 volunteers from local high schools and scrounging donations. For her trouble, she found herself with 170 pounds of turkey on Wednesday, 100 toys wrapped for children, along with more cakes, courtesy of the local Costco, than she could count. ``It makes a big difference today just to have someone to talk to,'' she said. ``People don't realize there's people in need in the Conejo Valley The Conejo Valley is a region spanning both Southeastern Ventura County and Northwest Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States. It was discovered in 1542 by Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, and eventually became part of the Rancho El Conejo land grant by , but there really are.'' Ramon Gin, a Thousand Oaks gardener, came for the first time with his young daughter. ``I have no family here, only in Mexico,'' he said in Spanish. ``It's free, and I don't have much money. It's a difficult situation, but I'm glad that in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , there's help for the poor. You don't see that in other places.'' Lori Crane, a volunteer in charge of turkey slicing, showed up at 9 a.m. While most folks were enjoying a day off, she sliced her way through 24 turkey breasts. ``When it's something like this, you don't mind,'' she said. ``I'll sleep in tomorrow. You feel better giving than you do getting.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Steve Bell Steve Bell is the name of:
Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News |
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