Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Antioch Baptist, Francis de Sales, Macedonia Baptist, Salem Church Mathews, and Kingston Episcopal Parish joined forces again this year to provide a Thanksgiving dinner to our greater Mathews community. Together we provided turkey, with stuffing, ham, sweet potatoes, green beans, mashed potatoes and homemade desserts. The help of Island Stop and Meals on Wheels provided several of the menu items, making this job much easier. Over 50 guests enjoyed a sit-down dining experience that day, and over 300 take-out meals were prepared and delivered on Thanksgiving morning.

The volunteers that made this event possible are another example of how our Mathews community joined forces. First off, a big thank-you to our youth who arrived on that Wednesday before and set the tables and buffet line for serving. Carving crew were on board at 7 a.m. that Thanksgiving morning. Our carvers this year were from Francis de Sales, Salem Church, Kingston Parish, and several non-denominational community volunteers.

Our take-out assembly line is like a well-oiled machine. A ham and turkey plate was prepared for each person on our take-out list. Macedonia Baptist does an amazing job organizing the routes for the deliveries. Our volunteer drivers were on standby, and their cars were packed with food and on the road by 10 that morning. Sit-down dining is made possible by our volunteer buffet servers who also volunteer their time that day.

We were able to celebrate our 26th year, and it has always been possible by the tremendous support provided by our greater Mathews community.

Vicki L. Carter
Kingston Parish
Mathews, Va.