Two months out
A Denver bus driver is surprised with a Thanksgiv- ing meal delivered by House for all Sin- ners and Saints.
traditional holiday ... with the nontraditional
O
n Nov. 22, Americans will focus on gathering, feasting and grate- fulness. But many can’t celebrate Thanksgiving because they’re either working or simply have no place to go or people to be with. Thanksgiving has become “a time to share our lives with those who have no place to go,” said Judy Gittus, membership secretary of Bethel Lutheran Church, Rochester, Minn. Each year, Bethel and House For All Sinners and Saints in Denver reach out to others on Thanksgiving. Their ministries are different, but the goals are similar: “We try to give blessings and be blessings,” said Nadia Bolz-Weber, pastor of the Denver church. For five years, House For All Sinners and Saints has made turkey sandwiches and other dishes, delivering them to some 600 people who have to work on Thanksgiving Day. On the day before Thanksgiving, community members drop off donated food items, which are placed in paper bags. A sticker on the bag says: “It [stinks] that you have to work on Thanksgiving.” The next morning the congregation’s members go throughout the community handing out meals to anyone they find working.
While the group in Denver delivers sandwiches, Bethel hosts a meal featuring traditional and nontraditional foods. This began nearly 20 years ago when the church invited friends originally from countries across the globe, including Laos, Somalia, Sudan and Vietnam—peo- ple involved in the church’s refugee ministry and some who eventually joined the congregation. The guests brought traditional dishes from their homeland.
The program ended when Gittus, the driving force, began spending Thanksgiving Day with her ailing parents. But after her father died in 2010, she worked with the church’s Neighborhood Outreach Team to resurrect the “untraditional” meal in honor of her parents. For the past two years, Bethel has invited its old friends from varying countries back to feast on a Thanksgiving meal—150 people who have no other place to go.
Forty volunteers and generous donations make this event possible. Honoring a AMY CLIFFORD
Bethel’s doors open at 8 a.m. on Thanksgiv- ing Day to accommodate those looking for coffee before the meal.
Both churches—and countless others— strive for unity on a day when many people are alone because, to Gittus, Thanksgiving means “getting together with family and friends, and even strangers, to celebrate the bounty that God has given us and blessed us with.”
Jeremy Ott
TIP: If you and other like-minded individuals are inter- ested in sponsoring a meal, start by meeting together to decide which holiday and how many people to plan for. Work on which groups you would invite: the con- gregation, groups outside the church, the entire city/ town you live in? Then just do it.
For more information, contact Nadia Bolz-Weber at
sarcasticlutheran@gmail.com and Judy Gittus (
JGittus@bethellutheran.com).
Good one!
Take & bake Just in time for busy fall schedules, St. Peter Lutheran Church, Grimes, Iowa, helps families by offering its “Take and Bake Ministry.” Since 2009 the church has invited members to gather to make healthy dinners that they take home to be served on a busy evening. Every other month, St. Peter offers a
menu and time for meal assembly. Each par- ticipating person or family gives a donation, which covers the cost of supplies and extra meals for those in the congregation or com- munity who may be going through difficult times. In addition to the meals, organizer Beth
Wickman says working as a team on prepa- ration, assembly and cleanup is a great time for conversation and support. For more information, contact her at bethwickman@
yahoo.com.
Does your congregation do a specific ministry in January, February or March? Send details (or your best timeless idea) to
julie.sevig@
thelutheran.org. September 2012 39
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