Thanksgiving Is A Monthly Affair at St. Thomas Church

Community Invited to Next Dinner Saturday, December 13

by Harold Wolfson

(November 20, 2008) Thanksgiving happens every month at St. Thomas Church in Mamaroneck.

On the second Saturday about 120 guests sit down to a freshly cooked dinner prepared by a volunteer chef from the congregation and a team of about 14 kitchen helpers and servers.

A recent community dinner at St. Thomas provided hot food and warm hospitality.

To be sure, the event is not specifically Pilgrim-oriented. The Community Dinner at St. Thomas Church has been going on for more than 15 years – as part of the congregation’s goal to bring the community together and offer thanksgiving for mutual friendship and goodwill.

“In the beginning, we thought we’d bring in the poor and disadvantaged for a good hot meal and a little reassurance that somebody cared,” said Rev. Deacon Lynn Werdal (at right), who manages the event. “But pretty soon, all kinds of people were coming, teachers, seniors of all stripes, lawyers, day laborers, homemakers and their children.”

George Latimer, the New York State assemblyman, says he tries “not to miss a dinner. I come because it is a great cross-section of the community --- old, young, all different ethnic backgrounds. It’s a wonderful Saturday night community connection. And for me, it’s a great chance to talk to everybody.”

Darlene Green, a retired grandmother, also rarely misses the gathering because she makes new friends, and it’s a chance for her to be out and about.

Diane De Baker came with her three children because she wanted them to know why a community was a community.

The seed of each gathering is planted during a regular Sunday church service when Deacon Werdal asks for volunteers for the dinner two months hence. One or two members will step forward and offer to serve as chefs. Still others volunteer for supporting roles, and supper is on its way.

The chef and helpers set to work around noon in the church kitchen, and the meal is served at 5:30 pm amid a welter of spirited guest conversations, table-hopping and cross-table greetings. Through careful shopping, and possibly a bit of arm twisting, the dinner teams can serve a full meal for less than $3.00 a person. Typical meals include a main course of pot roast or meat loaf, chicken breast, or spaghetti and meat ballsalong with green vegetables, potatoes or rice, and salad. This is topped off with dessert, and beverages of coffee, tea, iced tea, and lemonade.

It’s a demanding undertaking for a church congregation of 110 households. And this isn’t St. Thomas’ only community service. The church provides brown bag lunches, together with a variety of grocery staples, to more than 70 visitors every Tuesday. It operates a well attended Thrift Shop and a one-of-a-kind Halloween Pumpkin Patch. Also, the church houses the Hispanic Resource Center and the KEEPS after school program. And, on a more global scale, the church helps support 65 AIDS orphans in Tanzania so they can go to school.

While the traditional Thanksgiving dinner comes but once a year, the community is invited in to a celebration of thanksgiving at St. Thomas’ Community Dinner every month. The next dinner will be held on December 13th.

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