On Sunday, November 22, our Church will be packed to the gills with turkeys, potatoes, stuffing, green beans, desserts, and the hands required to get them to local families and shelters in need of a Thanksgiving Day meal. Beginning at 2:00pm, church families and the church’s four youth groups will decorate and fill food boxes, and organize and deliver 215 turkeys with trimmings, to 10 shelters and partner organizations.
Church staff, volunteers, and the church school children and youth have been working for weeks to make “Turkey Day” come together. “Our church school students raise the money to buy the non-perishables, and a group of dads shop for the large quantity goods for the shelters. Everyone pitches in,” comments Church School Director, Kelly McGinn.
Third and fourth graders assemble hot chocolate mix in jars they decorate, fifth and sixth graders create cookie mix in a jar to add to the boxes, middle-schoolers organize and prepare the assembled food for delivery, and the high schoolers, together with their parents, will deliver the meals to the drop-off sites on Sunday evening.
According to Youth Minister, Caroline Ainsworth, “This is a formative event for our kids, in terms of the realities of life and of what can be done to help.”
Marianna Kilbride, Director of Mission and Outreach adds, “And in the way community comes together, Alex Stewart and Walter Stewart’s Market partner with us on the project. Their generosity allows us to do much more that we could alone, for which we are very grateful. Close to one thousand individuals will be served on Thanksgiving. ”
In addition to organizing this shared activity, the church will have a special Thanksgiving service for families on Sunday, November 22 at 9:30am. The Thanksgiving service offers families the opportunity to lead parts of liturgy, enjoy a sermon attuned to all ages. All are welcome.