New ways to celebrate Thanksgiving

The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. -- Psalm 126:3

This year, we are doing Thanksgiving a whole new way. At least it's new to us. We've been talking about doing something like this for a couple of years.

Our first Thanksgivings we prepared our share of the big meal and schlepped it 20 miles across the county to my mother's house, where my home-bound uncle also resided. When he died in 2009, we decided she could come to us. Besides, no one really wanted to spend Thanksgiving there without him.

On Thursday, we will hold another first: We'll join with two other families and host a free community dinner at our church. We have wanted for a couple of years to serve food at a soup kitchen. This will not be a soup kitchen, nor will it feel like a handout. Organizers have worked hard to make the church multipurpose sanctuary/fellowship hall feel like a home. The tables have centerpieces. Crayons are on the tables for children to color the place mats. Servers will carry plates of food to the guests -- they won't line up to get them filled. We'll show "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" and "Facing the Giants" on a big screen. We have board games for after the feast. We won't talk about "need". All you "need" to attend is a desire to spend Thanksgiving with us.

Dinner will be served beginning at 1 p.m. Thanksgiving Day 2010 at Life Gate Church, a ministry of the Wesleyan Church in Terra Alta. (It's beside the Shop 'n Save.) Please join us if you desire.

Please check back Nov. 23 to read about another extraordinary Thanksgiving celebration. Guest blogger Tracy Strother will tell us about Friendsgiving.

Comments

Unknown said…
Sounds like a great idea. Praying that God will bless this part of your ministry!
November 23, 2010 at 7:10 AM
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