On Sunday evening, Nov. 15, Kayanne and I enjoyed and appreciated an early and happy Thanksgiving. The power of God and the cooperative spirit of Gainesville were in evidence at the Community Thanksgiving Banquet.

How exciting it was to see seven churches from five denominations come together with faith, love and determination. In alphabetical order they are: First Baptist Church, First Presbyterian Church, First United Methodist Church, Grace Episcopal Church, St. John Baptist Church, St. Michael Catholic and St. Paul United Methodist Church.

Participants included Michelle Alexander, Bill Coates, Tim Gale, Calvin Haney, Kai Horn, Shon Peppers, Cynthia Park, Terry Walton and the Green Street Quartet of Jon Kerrick, Curtis Malcom, Jamie Mancuso and Linda Williams. Others who assisted in the planning were Mark Green and Stuart Higginbotham.

All of the hymns were written by the remarkable Fanny Crosby, blind from shortly after birth, who wrote over 8,000 hymns including “Blessed Assurance,” “Jesus is Tenderly Calling,” “Praise Him Praise Him” and “To God Be the Glory.”

It would have been a great evening with just the service and fellowship, but the faith into action made it even better. Kelley Robertson talked about the jointly sponsored upcoming Day of Gratitude: Community Thanksgiving Meal in the First Baptist Banquet Hall on Thanksgiving Day and open to all. Ann Nixon from Habitat for Humanity talked about the joint project to build a village of Habitat Houses.

A meaningful service was made stronger by the combined action of these seven churches.

Looking ahead, here is early notice for those who missed this unique evening. Whether you are a member of one of these churches or another church, or not a church member at this time, your life will be brighter if you come to the Community Thanksgiving Banquet and Worship on Sunday evening, Nov. 13, 2016. Two Thanksgivings are better than one!

Abit Massey
Gainesville

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