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Photo by Skip Lawrence
Brittany Foss, 14, and Emmet Eckman, 11, play Christmas songs on the piano as people and presents gathered at Centennial Memorial United Methodist Church on West Second Street for the Waterboyz 4 Jesus function Saturday morning.
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Before heading out to deliver Christmas gifts and food baskets to disadvantaged and disabled families Saturday morning in the Frederick area, a dozen or so members of The Waterboyz 4 Jesus gathered around a piano and sang "Silent Night."The occasion marked the group's third annual Christmas at the Margins event, organized this year in partnership with Second Street and Hope, a nonprofit group associated with Centennial Memorial United Methodist Church in downtown Frederick . Waterboyz started four years ago and is essentially a Bible study group of men from a variety of Christian denominations, said Paul Foss, the group's president. The study groups, which are mostly based in Frederick but have spread to Texas, Egypt, India and South Africa, meet once a week. Each month, the groups, or tables, join forces and do a service project. Past efforts have included a house makeover for a widow and a yard cleanup for an elderly woman, Foss said. In 2007 Waterboyz raised about $25,000 in donations, he said. Last year, Waterboyz brought gifts and food to 12 families, Foss said. Despite economic hardships this year, the group has expanded its reach to include 25 families. Waterboyz members will also sing Christmas carols and bless each family, many of whom were chosen by Second Street and Hope, Foss said. "We feel like if we're going to help Jesus, we're going to help people," he said. Dave Burg, a Waterboyz member for about 10 months, said he was bringing a delivery to a single mother with two young children at Hope Alive Inc., a Frederick County shelter for homeless women and children. Burg, who said he had once been in a motorcycle gang and once had a drug problem, had been moving toward a group like Waterboyz as a way of changing the direction of his life. "It's something I've been looking for for a long time," Burg said. Don Freitag, a retired Montgomery County Police detective, joined Waterboyz a year ago. Freitag said he attends group meetings two or three times a week to discuss spirituality and God. "I like all the things we get involved in," he said. On Saturday, Freitag joined Burg in delivering food and gifts. Bernie Thompson, a Waterboyz member for three years, said he enjoys the service side of the group's activities. "We have a lot of blessings -- it's nice to give something back," he said.
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