HOISINGTON — The Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 11th and Vine, believes in community service, and a part of that service is offering a free Thanksgiving meal for those who are by themselves or can’t afford to pay for the large meal. It will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the church.
“It’s something we do for the community for Thanksgiving Day,” Laura Barlow, who is in charge.
This is the fourth year that the church has done the event. They will have turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, salad and pies.
“Nine or 10 people prepare the turkeys, and the salad and pies are brought by the remainder of the congregation,” said Barlow.
The volunteers start cooking the eight turkeys and deboning them earlier in the week. They will then go to church at 6:30 a.m. Thanksgiving morning to finish all of the other preparations.
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun,” she said. “It keeps people from being alone. We hope they will come and eat with us.
Of course some people insist on paying something for the meal, but they don’t have to.
“It benefits the community and we feed people who are hungry,” she said. “It is a gift to the community and we don’t anybody to think we’re just trying to get them to come to church.