Highlands Today
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Thanksgiving Feasts Drawing Near
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Published: November 22, 2008
AVON PARK - The community has come through again as donations for the Union Congregational Church's Thanksgiving holiday ministry have poured in, according to Cheryal Phillips, administrative secretary for the church.
Phillips said Friday the Union Congregational Church in Avon Park is preparing to serve more than 900 Thanksgiving meals. About 800 will be delivered throughout the county.
She said the church volunteers expect to serve about 100 meals at 1 p.m., at the church hall, located at 106 N. Butler Ave.
Donations for the annual Thanksgiving project come from church members and the community, and have always met the need since this holiday ministry was launched 10 years ago, she said.
In a previous report that appeared on Nov. 14, Phillips indicated the church needed another 21 turkeys to add to the 61 it already had. However, those have come in, she said on Friday.
"We're doing great," she said. "God has provided. People have been really kind. They've very loving and supportive of our community. We're still in need of 60 more pies and we need people to bake the turkeys."
So, anyone with an empty oven is invited to help.
Soon the air will be filled with the smell of pumpkin, apple and berry pies. But please, don't bring cream pies, Phillips said.
"We have no place to store them," she said.
She was grateful for all the support the Thanksgiving dinner mission has gotten.
"One of our missions is to reach out into the community and that's what we want to do, is be the hands of Jesus," she said.
For information on making a donation of pies or cash, Phillips said, people may call the church office at 453-3345.
SEBRING THANKSGIVING
In Sebring, the Salvation Army and Atonement Lutheran Church will team up this year to provide free turkey dinners for Thanksgiving with all the trimmings. They are expecting to serve about 300 to 400 people, at last count.
Patti Graff and her husband Edwin of the Atonement Lutheran Church's Thanksgiving meal ministry said they have pretty much everything they need, except volunteers to help serve and clean up after the meal.
In a previous report Graff said a lot of the places they went to for donations have cut back compared to what they got last year. But since then people have come through.
Salvation Army Major Mary Holmes said contributions to the Salvation Army were down a bit there as well, but, by combining its efforts with Atonement Lutheran, it was going to work out.
Besides, the church's hall is more user-friendly.
"The Salvation Army building is not very handicapped friendly," said Holmes, adding it was because of the historic nature of the building. "So we decided to have it at the church."
Highlands County resident Mary Rhoades said her daughter Jennifer Rhoades will continue a tradition of volunteering this year for the Salvation Army.
"My daughter is a single mom who now lives in Polk City," said Mary Rhoades. "She has been bringing my grandson Benjamin since he was 4 years old; he's 8 now. She's been coming up to Sebring to serve Thanksgiving dinner because she wanted to teach her son by volunteering to serve.
"They're coming down again this year. She'll also be 'papoosing' my 4-month-old granddaughter Jenavieve, on her back or on her front, I'm not sure. Her fiance Rick Gonzalez will also be with her for the second year."
Sit-down meals will be served from noon to 3 p.m. Nov. 27 at the Atonement Lutheran Church Social Hall, located at 1178 Lakeview Drive, in Sebring.
Take-out meals will be distributed at two locations, Lemon Street and the Sebring Parkway, from noon to 12:30 p.m., Thursday and at the Laundromat at the Blue Crab Mall from 12:45 to 1:15 p.m.
"We are starting our Christmas effort, so what's not used for Thanksgiving would go into the Christmas effort," said Holmes.
And that will work out well.
"The day after Thanksgiving the kettles go out and our Angel Trees go out," she said. "We are asking people to pick an ornament and adopt a child for Christmas."
Once the angel ornaments are selected people are asked to return with unwrapped age-and-gender appropriate gifts.
Salvation Army donations can be pledged by calling Holmes at the Salvation Army, 385-7548, Ext. 110.
Joe Seelig can be reached at (863) 386-5834 or jseelig@highlandstoday.com and Jim Konkoly can be reached at (863) 386-5855 or jkonkoly@highlandstoday.com .
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