“There’s nothing in front of me but dead trees,” Ms. Peterson said.

Before her recent visit to the church, Ms. Peterson was about to give up on ever submitting a claim.

But she was greeted not only by the staff members celebrating Christmas with meals for those in need, but also by people wearing shirts commemorating last year’s disaster with messages like “We Stand Together.”

“I wouldn’t have done it had I not been here,” Ms. Peterson said. “I said, I’m going to need help with it. I started to work on it on the internet, but I wasn’t able to do it.”

The drive at the church on this day added her and one other victim to the claim applicants. Perhaps one small victory, but a victory nevertheless.

Dave Bruns, an associate pastor, said the church had been physically spared from the fire and had worked to help the community recover. While the church has long provided food during the Christmas season, this year the congregation doubled the effort to about 300 meals, while also providing information about filing claims. The goal is to help restore the town and its people’s hope.

“We kind of shuffled our focus,” Mr. Bruns said. “This is kind of a rallying point. The real purpose of the meal this year wasn’t just to give people food. It was to invite people to feel normal again.”