Many years ago, some people at Good Shepherd looked around and listened to Coffee Hour talk and realized that a significant portion of the membership were not visiting or having visitors for Thanksgiving. And, many of those staying home were couples. Preparing a Thanksgiving meal for two was just not something they wanted to do, though they certainly enjoyed this most American feast day. The solution was to offer a Thanksgiving meal at church.

We have no idea how many were served at that first GS Thanksgiving, but thank you for coming and starting this tradition at Good Shepherd. The participation has grown each year to 92 participants pre-covid.

Not being able to “do” Thanksgiving during the pandemic was a real bummer and, Parish Life could not let it just slide away. Putting on or thinking caps and dusting off our creativity the solution was obvious. Carry Out. We did the cooking of the basic meal and offered it for people to take home. The menu was somewhat limited by the size of the go-boxes but we succeeded with a truly great meal of turkey, wild rice stuffing, bread dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy as well as, everybody’d favorite, a small portion of cranberry sauce. All homemade. All of this food was sent home with a piece of candy, a Thanksgiving refrigerator poster, and instructions on how to warm up the meal. It was a huge success. 70 people came to pick up Thanksgiving. It sparked the idea that this could also be done for Easter and unfortunately (because Covid was still around) a second Thanksgiving.

We continue the Good Shepherd tradition this year with having dinner in person. On Thanksgiving day we once again offer a sit down dinner in the Parish hall. And, everyone can come. The church will provide the turkey and ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, wild rice stuffing, bread dressing, and a beautifully decorated venue.

We ask two things of our guests.
First, please sign up in the hallway so we know how much food to prepare and how many places to set.
Second, please join in preparing the feast and bring a side dish and/or a dessert.

There are several sign up sheets in the Hallway, including lists for helping out. Thanksgiving dinner will be served after the Thanksgiving service on Thursday, November 24. We hope to see all of you there.

The Parish Life Committee