Remember It’s Thanks-GIVING!

  
Back in 2007 when I was the president of The Ellis County Ministerial Alliance I heard that the long standing tradition of a Thanksgiving Day meal at the National Guard Armory was in jeopardy of ending. Prior to that Gayleen Benedict and her mother Florence Wear of The Corner Garden Restaurant had hosted a meal at the Armory on Thanksgiving Day for ten years.  

It was then that I sought out Pam Burgardt, of Pam’s Bakery Shop in The Hadley Center and she made a commitment to along with ECMA to keep the festivities alive.

Ever since then my wife Debbie and I have hosted this event. Last year over 500 people who did not have a place to enjoy Thanksgiving are served a hearty traditional meal by nearly 100 volunteers at Pam Burgardt’s new location ,The Rose Garden Banquet Hall. 367 bags of groceries were also taken home by needy families thanks to the C3 folks who collected and bagged the groceries in advance. (See below to fill the remaining slots)

It takes a village to make this event happen. Here is a list of the volunteer opportunities that are still needed to be filled:

* This Saturday November 22nd, 48 volunteers are needed to collect food items in front of Wal-Mart and the two Dillon’s locations between 9am and 5pm. We still have 14 time slots open that need to be filled. Please e-mail me at kyle@celebratejesus.org or call 625-5483 if you can help for an hour this Saturday.   
* Wednesday November 26th  at 5:30pm at the Rose Garden Banquet Hall 50 volunteers are needed to bag the groceries collected on Saturday.  

* Thanksgiving Day Thursday November 27th  from 11:30am -1:30pm 75 volunteers are needed to greet, serve, deliver meals and clean up afterward  at the Rose Garden Banquet Hall. All in all over 150 plus volunteers are needed to make ECMA’s Thanksgiving Day Feast the success that it is.

If you can help on Wednesday and Thursday please call First Call For Help at 623-2800 and sign up for an assignment to serve. FCFH is organizing the volunteers so please call them!

I know that we are asking a lot of our congregation this holiday season by filling Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes (we have passed out over 500 boxes and the deadline is Sunday). We have raised close to $40,000 at the Community Mission Auction last Saturday night. Now I am asking you to help collect food and serve at the Thanksgiving meal. 

But there is something else I know; God has blessed this community of faith with so many gifts, none greater than the good news of Jesus Christ that God has entrusted to us to share in Hays, Colby and to the ends of the earth.  

Thank you in advance C3 for your faithful participation in these mission opportunities.

Your pastor and partner in ministry,

Kyle