140 struggling families will have a homemade Thanksgiving meal thanks to the selfless volunteers from FBCW. Both the givers and the receivers were in high spirits on Tuesday evening November 22 as FBCW handed out un-cooked packaged dinners. They included a frozen turkey, with all the fixings for a traditional Thanksgiving meal.
The outreach event is more than just addressing hunger in the community; volunteers say they hope to demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ to those in need. The church feels called to feed the hungry, and pray for everyone who comes to get the free items.
This event reminds those that volunteered as a community, they are all one. It’s important to always remember that God has been good to them and blessed them, which allows them to be a blessing to someone else.
This is the 11th year the church has provided free Thanksgiving meals to the community.
Additionally, on Saturday November 19 FBCW opened up its doors to a record breaking crowd for the annual HOPE Thanksgiving Dinner. HOPE Pantry volunteers and children's ministries offered hospitality to the clients from the Pantry with serving them dinner and waiting on them throughout the evening. Twenty-five gift baskets containing household items and food were given away that evening.
Finally, FBCW will be involved in a Christmas Store to be held at the LINC Community Center December 13-15.
The Christmas Store exists to provide new toys at Christmas to children in low-income families by engaging volunteers in meaningful community service.
Following the instructions of Jesus, the Christmas Store is designed to help families in this area who are in need during the holidays. There are many families who do not have adequate resources to purchase gifts for their children at Christmas time. They find themselves struggling just to “make ends meet” with the necessities of life. Additionally, there are many other people in this area who have abundant resources. They find themselves wanting to help their neighbors, but do not know what the need is or how to help. The purpose of the Christmas Store is to bring those two groups together.
If you care to participate in giving gifts for the store or volunteering your time, please contact Kathy Thompson at 636-332-5127 ext.222