Thanks given at Malta Lutheran Church

The Malta Lutheran Church hosted a free Thanksgiving meal on Thanksgiving in Malta last Thursday, accommodating 90 guests with turkey, potatoes and all the other goodies associated with the day.

Ahead of the Thanksgiving celebration, volunteers met at Malta Lutheran Church on Wednesday night to peel some 100 pounds of potatoes as well as cook approximately 200-pounds of turkey (eight turkeys weighing anywhere from 16-to-25 pounds), 26 pumpkin pies, and serving gallons of black olives, real whip cream...you name it, they had it.

The idea to host Thanksgiving at Malta Lutheran stemmed from a group discussion of the book entitled The Way Back: How Christians Blew Our Credibility and How We Can Get It Back penned by Phil Cooke and Jonathan Bock. Among the many things discussed in the book, the book gave many examples of how Christians, for centuries, have actively helped in various ways in their communities.

"Following the discussion on the book, Pastor Bob (Nagy) asked us the question of 'How can we, as a church, reach out to the community and other people and do something to help anyone in any way we can?'," Billie Rae Holman said.

The question made Holman recall a time when she was visiting family in Helena, Mont., on Thanksgiving and discovered that a local restaurant was serving free Thanksgiving dinner to anyone who might have been alone, travelers or anyone else in need of friendship and food on a day generally spent with family.

"It was a very humbling experience," Holman said. "We enjoyed it so much and it was wonderful to experience that kind of outreach of love. That day stuck as one of the more memorable experiences we had ever had on a holiday."

Holman said the reading of the book and the question from Pastor Nagy sparked the memory of her day in Helena and led to the idea of the free Thanksgiving meal last week at Malta Lutheran.

"It just feels like the right thing to do and we are going by the seat of our pants because we have no idea how many people will show up," she said.

All told, a total of 90 guests showed up for the event and Annie Jefferson was among the first. As she sat eating her pumpkin pie, Jefferson said she was happy to be at the event and thankful for many things in her life.

"I liked the meal and the potatoes were my favorite part, with the gravy," Jefferson said. "I am most thankful for God today."

Barb Schlocker was joined by friends Kathy and Bill Black at one of the dozen tables set up for dinner at the church. Schlocker said when she first came to Malta nearly a decade ago that local restaurants often hosted Thanksgiving meals free for the community and added she was happy to see this type of event return.

"Things change and maybe they started to think they couldn't afford it, so for Malta Lutheran Church to do this is great," she said. "Hopefully, other churches will step in and help because we all need to help each other out."

She said she is most thankful for her friends and her good fortune in life.

Kathy, like Annie before her, said the mashed potatoes and gravy were her favorite dish of the day and said that she was thankful for the Thanksgiving meal at the church because much of her family leaves town for the day to celebrate elsewhere.

"Everyone comes home for Christmas, but do their own thing on Thanksgiving," she said. "I am most thankful for my family, my friend Barb, my grandkids, and my husband.

The event ran from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the final report of the day was even better than anyone could have expected.

"This has been another humbling experience," Holman said. "We are so thankful for everyone that showed up to help and showed up to give thanks with us. We are so thankful and nobody should be alone on Thanksgiving."