LAKEPORT – People who came for the free Thanksgiving dinner advertised at the First Baptist Church of Lakeport were greeted warmly and then sent upstairs to the main hall with plates heaped with turkey and all the trimmings Thursday.
Pastor Mark Wascom said this year was the first time the church has opened its doors to the community after starting a Thanksgiving get-together among members five years ago. The inaugural dinner is part of the church”s overall effort to reach out to the community, according to Wascom.
“Last year, we had people walking down the street that would walk in and say, ”have you guys got food?” Someone that got stranded in the area, homeless or whatever, so we though it was a great idea to invite them to join us then. But this is the first year we”ve advertised,” Wascom said.
Approximately 60 people came for the free dinner, which was cooked and served by 15 volunteers in the church. Wascom said the mix of church members and people from the community was about half and half. Servers near the front entrance said they were eager to serve more people, and had more food than they needed.
While he isn”t sure the church will put on a Thanksgiving dinner next year, or a Christmas dinner, he said church members were more than happy to put time, effort and elbow grease into this first dinner. Church members donated money to buy food for the dinner when the idea of going public was first discussed earlier in the year, according to Wascom.
“The church family really jumped on board. This is something they really wanted to get behind – they”ve supported with their actions, their money, their prayers – so I”m sure this will be an ongoing project, maybe even more than Thanksgiving or Christmas. We”d like to be of benefit to the community,” Wascom said.
Fall decorations graced long tables set in the church”s upstairs main hall, under the cross set on the wall where Wascom stands to address his congregation during services. Wascom gave a five-minute talk about being thankful in hard times and an informal altar call. Volunteers waited on people at the tables, bringing drinks and pumpkin pie.
The church is in the process of changing its name to Lake County Bible Fellowship, according to Wascom. He said the name more aptly reflects the church”s mission. That mission, he said, is to “move outside the walls of our church and into the community.”
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636 ext. 37.
