Unlike the biblical inn that turned away a pregnant Mary ahead of the birth of Jesus, the Pine Street Inn welcomed all for Christmas Eve.

“There’s no good time to be homeless,” said Lyndia Downie, Pine Street’s president and executive director, ahead of the organization’s annual Christmas Eve luncheon in the South End. “The holidays are the toughest time… people feel it, I think, a lot more than they do the rest of the year.”

So, the goal of the celebration, which included faith leaders, carolers, and this year steak and chocolate cake, is “to take people’s minds off it a little bit,” Downie said.

“We don’t typically have steak,” she joked, thanking the donors who made it possible.

Volunteer Jorge Vejiga scoops fruit salad bowls in the kitchen of Pine Street Inn on Christmas Eve. (Mark Stockwell/Boston Herald)

Downie said she was grateful to them and the hundreds of volunteers who helped to decorate and prepare the 1,000 meals Pine Street served on Christmas Eve. The organization operates a shelter as well 1,200 housing units with support services.

Around this time of year, they let everyone in, a feat that has become more difficult recently. Downie said they are seeing about 700 people come in each night compared to 550 people the same time last year.

They’ve been installing bunk beds and adding cots to accommodate people. With prices up and rents soaring, folks feel squeezed, Downie said.

Carolers from Ripples of Hope, including soloist Dwayne Burgess of Dorchester, sing Christmas songs at Pine Street Inn. (Mark Stockwell/Boston Herald)

Delphia Bizzell, Pine Street’s consumer engagement coordinator, said it took her two years to find stable housing in Boston when she moved here in 2017, which led her and her husband of 29 years to stay in shelters.

“We hear similar stories like this every day,” she said.

“My role is to give voice to the voiceless,” Bizzell explained. She said while living in shelters, she often felt “no one wanted to hear my voice.”

In her job now, she gets to listen to folks to see what the organization is doing well and could do better.

Having lived through the experience gives her a unique perspective and skill. For example, she understands what it’s like to be separated from family; often she and her husband couldn’t stay in the same shelter even though they hadn’t been apart since before they were married.

Bizzell feels like it can also help show people in the shelter what life can be like for them after. “This is not a permanent situation.”

“I love it,” she said of the job.

Bizzell agreed that the holidays are tough, but celebrations like Pine Street’s luncheon give people the opportunity to come together.

“You just want to feel normal,” she said.

First time volunteers Jarret Wright, left, and his daughter, Ellie, 11, of West Roxbury, speak with Pine Street Inn personnel Rebecca Crawford, second from right, and April Stevens, right. (Mark Stockwell/Boston Herald)

Saint Cecilia Parish’s Father John Unni, who is also on the organization’s board, said that he appreciates how much dignity Pine Street gives people on the holidays and every day.

“The holidays aren’t always ho ho ho,” he said, recalling that even on the first Christmas when Mary and Joseph weren’t welcomed at the inn, it likely wasn’t because it didn’t have room — instead, they were probably turned away because of their status in society.

“I always feel like there is room at this inn for whoever,” Unni said. “That’s not just the Christian message, it’s the Jewish message, it’s the faith message. It’s a message of God.”

Rabbi Dan Slipakoff of Temple Israel in Brookline agreed.

“In Judaism, hope is not just a feeling. It’s something we do,” he said. “Our tradition teaches us that feeding the hungry is not optional. It is a commandment from God. So is caring for the vulnerable and protecting the dignity of every person.”

Pastor Solomon Alipoh, of Union Combined Parish, said when he experienced homelessness in the past, it was the help of someone else that brought him the hope he needed to get through.

“I can only imagine the profound impact the team and organization like yours is having on so many lives,” Alipoh said. “This is an organization, I will say, that brings glory to our Lord, our Lord Jesus,” who he noted was also born in a manger homeless.

Kitchen volunteer Kathleen McGinn slides a tray of frozen lasagnas that were cooked and served to guests at Pine Street Inn. (Mark Stockwell/Boston Herald)

After the carolers sang their tunes and the faith leaders suited up in their aprons to serve the meals, Mariah Brown, a guest at Pine Street Inn, spoke to the Herald about how she saw the place as a “stepping stone” towards a better future.

Plate in hand, ready for lunch, Brown dreams by next year that she’ll find a home. She said, “I still have hope.”

Carolers from Ripples of Hope sing Christmas songs at Pine Street Inn. (Mark Stockwell/Boston Herald)