ASHLAND - Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Ashland, held its inaugural Shepherd's Table Thanksgiving Dinner outreach on Saturday by providing free turkey dinners with all the fixings to those who may not be able to afford or share one on the holiday.
About 100 people were registered for the Shepherd's Table Thanksgiving dinner, which was served in the church's fellowship hall.
The church took over the annual free holiday dinner project this year from the Ashland Area Rotary Club, who sponsored its Giving Thanks Dinner since 2002, and the changeover was considered seamless since the church hall has been the venue of the Rotary project for the past 11 years.
Church volunteers were busy in the kitchen getting the platters ready to be served. The diners received a hot turkey and gravy, dressing, mashed potatoes, corn, roll and butter, cranberry sauce, homemade bisquits, a choice of carrot or coconut cake and beverages. Diners began to arrive at noon, took their seats in the hall and had their meals brought to them courtesy of the church's Baruch Youth Group members.
The dinner was coordinated by parishioner Pamela Snyder, Gordon, who also coordinates the monthly Shepherd's Table dinners and the Ashland Area Ministerium food pantry, which is also located in the church. Members of Simpson United Methodist Church, Gordon, also helped.
"Since we have the Shepherd's Table once a month, I thought we could do this for the community, also. That's why we decided to do this," Snyder said. "We reached out to the people who use the food pantry with letters about the dinner and asked them to call with reservations. We made enough food so we have lots of extra for additional people just in case."
Letters were sent to local corporations for donations of items. Snyder said Wal-Mart donated turkeys and Hillshire Brands (formerly Sara Lee) provided cakes and pies.
"We did all the cooking here in-house except for the cakes," Snyder said. "Some people don't realize what it takes to get it all together."
Ten people involved with the monthly Shepherd's Table worked on Saturday's dinner, plus the Baruch members. The Shepherd's Table dinners began in October 2012.
There were no take-outs allowed on Saturday in order to provide a more social atmosphere, Snyder said.
"We wanted everyone to eat in because maybe they don't have family and this way they could sit and talk to their neighbor or to the workers," she said.
The Rev. Dana Heckman-Beil, pastor, was helping in the kitchen and in the dining area, where she greeted everyone.
"We have doubled the number for the monthly Shepherd's Table, but we have doubled the help," Heckman-Beil said.
She added: "We have loads of people pitching in, and Pam Snyder has been amazing through all this. She did all the behind the scenes stuff, and today she's just in charge of rolls. It's a big undertaking, but we have about 10 from our youth group here. And it worked out to have it here again since people are familiar the building for having come here before for the Rotary dinners."
Heckman-Beil added: "This church is a beacon in this community for a lot of things. People know that it's a sanctuary for people who need help."