Volunteers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints deliver turkeys to New Life In Christ food pantry.

Spiritual

Grandview Church gives away Thanksgiving fixings for 200

“We are so excited to be back inside the church…it has been a drive through since the pandemic.”

By Martin City Telegraph / November 23, 2023

By Heather Wimmer

A line snaked out the door and into the parking lot of New Life in Christ Church in Grandview early on Saturday, November 18. Volunteers were getting ready for the annual Thanksgiving Dinner Giveaway hosted by the church’s Helping Hands Food Pantry. Long tables inside the sanctuary held bags and bags of stuffing, green beans, and everything with which someone would need to make a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Outside, giant bins held dozens of frozen turkeys and rolls.

Tammy Mayhew organized volunteers at the distribution event on November 18.

“We are so excited to be back inside the church,” volunteer coordinator Tammy Mayhew said.  “This is an annual event, but it has been a drive through since the pandemic.”  As the volunteers gathered for a prayer led by Associate Pastor James Lewis, they joined hands and asked for people to feel the love of God through this service.

Senior Pastor Keith Wesley greeted the crowd as they came into the sanctuary and gave them a short message of encouragement. Then the 200 bags inside and frozen goods outside slowly disappeared. The remaining meals were distributed at church services the following day, or saved in the adjacent food pantry for Christmas. Mayhew said, “It went well as always. Lots of families were served and expressed their gratitude.”
Volunteers gather to pray by 200 bags of stuffing and Thanksgiving dinner fixings.
Food pantry director Millicent Connor planned the event, but was ironically at home recovering from COVID during the giveaway. She said that plans had been underway for months. About half of the food for the event came from Harvesters. Other parts of the dinner came from Church of the Resurrection, which delivers food to the pantry quarterly. The turkeys were purchased with a grant from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Church members at New Life in Christ donated money and gift cards for door prizes to add to the excitement of the event. “We are a small pantry and we don’t receive any state or federal funds,” Connor explained. But they have big plans. She continued, “It is our desire to obtain a bigger facility and reach even more families.”

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