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Here’s how those in need can get a free meal, warm clothes on Thanksgiving

Posted at 12:03 AM, Nov 28, 2019
and last updated 2019-11-28 00:03:44-05

PETERSBURG, Va. -- The Christian Tabernacle Church (CT) in Petersburg is preparing a Thanksgiving Day service and a free meal for those in need.

"We're trying to let them know we see them. Because so many people don't see them," said CT Minister  Debbie Powell.

Singing and praise could be heard from outside the church, Wednesday night, as members made last minute preparations for Thursday's service.

The church will also feed and clothe the homeless this Thanksgiving.

It's a kindness Minister Powell was raised on by her mother.

"Before we would sit down for Thanksgiving dinner, we would take a plate to neighbors which her mother started. So it just falls into home training," said Powell.

But she's not the only with compassion at the church. That same compassion is what led Bishop Kenneth Hicks, to move back to Virginia and start the Christian Tabernacle Church in Petersburg.

Hicks is retired from the military and spent more than a decade leading two churches in Missouri, hosting 17 Thanksgiving dinners for those in need.

"We're living in terrible times and if the church doesn't make a statement in the community, something is wrong," said Bishop Hicks.

"While in Missouri we even had a house full of soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood," added Powell.

And it's a tradition they hope to keep in alive for years to come.

"They put thanksgiving on the calendar as a national observance but thanksgiving is every day.," Powell said.

Service will start at 10:00 am followed by dinner and fellowship from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm. The church is located at 1001 West High Street, Petersburg.