The commercial world may have sort of pushed Thanksgiving Day aside, but not those who believe it’s a day to express thankfulness, gratitude and appreciation to God for one’s blessings. The writer O. Henry called it the one day that is purely American. For many Americans, Thanksgiving is the only time of year when all members of a family gather together. More than any other holiday, it’s a celebration of family and home.

Although its origin has always caused debate, there’s one American tradition that has always been associated with this special holiday and that is a grand Thanksgiving dinner. Members of the White Marsh Baptist Church and Bellamy United Methodist Church will provide this special tradition for many, many people this Saturday, Nov. 20, from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., at White Marsh Baptist Church at White Marsh in Gloucester. The members served 450 dinners last year and there is a possibility they will serve as many as 600 this year.

The ladies of White Marsh Baptist began this generous and most successful community outreach program in 2001 and have been repeating it annually. It’s all paid for (out of the church members’ pockets), then cooked and served, and delivered to those who are unable to attend. "Most of the cooking is done at home," Margaret Walker, a long-time committee member and worker, explained, "and then brought to church. Now the mashed potatoes are prepared at church, mostly outside in large stew pots. After mashing and whipping by hand for several years, my husband Dave came up with the idea of hooking up a single long mixer to an electric drill, and now it’s no problem and much easier."

When asked how many people it took to make this dinner come about all these years, her reply was, "you’d be surprised. Probably 12 to 14 people. We began with serving about 125 meals for our first one. Each year it has increased. It could be 600 people attending this year. We are preparing for it and we have some new help. The Key Club at Gloucester High School will be helping to serve and Bellamy United Methodist Church has joined us as a sponsor. Our ladies will be cooking all the turkeys and Bellamy ladies will be cooking all the hams."

The menu reads like this: turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, yams, green beans, corn casseroles, deviled eggs, potato salad, cranberry sauce, rolls, cakes and pies, coffee, tea and water. The casserole dishes, desserts, etc., will all be prepared at different homes and then brought to the church.

To serve so many people the sanctuary at White Marsh is turned into a dining room and the space usually used for dining becomes a buffet table serving area.

"We have never had a problem of too many diners at one time," Margaret said. "It seems to work out nicely. They are coming and leaving all during the three hours of serving. Sometimes at the very end of the day we may give out of a couple things but we just double up on the others. And if this happens we make a note of it and next year we know to increase those dishes. There’s never any food left over. It’s all eaten."

Brenda Skinner is this year’s chairman of the dinner and wants everyone to know "how appreciative we are to Bellamy church for joining in. We are so happy to work with them." She added, "Please let the people who need home delivery know that if they call 693-2863, the church number, they will get an answering machine, just leave their name and number and we will call back."

Both churches are uniquely involved with the meaning and traditions of Thanksgiving and these are carried out through the entire year in one form or another. White Marsh sponsors a food bank which opens the first Thursday of each month from 10 a.m. to noon. These past Thanksgiving dinners and all of their programs have been quite an accomplishment for this fairly new church with membership exceeding 100. It began as a mission in 1983 with 27 members, was established as a church in 1994, built its first facility in 1995, and is still growing, both in membership and its contributions to the community.