Published: November 24, 2009 08:30 pm      

Central Christian Church hosting community Thanksgiving dinner

By KANDACE MCCOY

kandace.mccoy@register-news.com

MT. VERNON — More than 250 volunteers are expected to serve the community at Central Christian Church’s annual Thanksgiving Dinner, which will be held Thursday at 11 a.m.

On Wednesday, volunteers were already in the kitchen at the church, trimming and cutting up bushels of sweet potatoes — donated by a man dubbed “Tater Man” — for the community-wide dinner. The event has not only been a tradition in the King City for nearly 13 years, but also has grown, according to volunteers.

“The need of the community continues to grow,” said Mark Rudolfski, who has volunteered for the last two years. “The mission of our church is loving God and loving people and this dinner fits right in.”

The dinner was originally started by a local physician, according to information from the church, and fed about 100 people. Last year, approximately 1,200 people benefited from the dinner. This year, volunteers expect to serve more than 1,500 community members.

“Steve Reynolds is in his 12th year of organizing this,” said Carmen Ham. “He takes time away from friends, family and work to organize this huge dinner. He’s awesome and deserves a lot of praise. He starts working on this weeks before the dinner.”

Ham also stressed the meal is not just for those in need.

“This meal is for everyone,” she said. “No one should spend the day alone.”

The dinner Thursday will consist of traditional turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, gravy, dressing, vegetables, hot rolls and pie. In conjunction with the event, Central Christian Church will also host its annual clothing drive. Coats, sweaters, sweatshirts, hats and gloves will be given away at the dinner.

The church will be offering free transportation for the dinner, but those in need of transportation must contact the church by 5 p.m. today to make arrangements.

Central Christian Church will also be serving a dinner in Centralia at the Calumet Christian Church, 2240 East Calumet Street. Ham said volunteers are still needed for that event, which will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday.

Volunteers will be delivering meals to homebound residents, information from the church stated. However, they must be referred by a church, minister or other agency and received at the church by 5 p.m. today.

Transportation requests and referrals may be made by calling 242-4185.

For more information, to donate or volunteer, you may contact the church.