Thanksgiving 2019 was extra special for the Tracy Alliance Church congregation, which opened the doors to their new addition to the general public for the first time for its annual holiday meal
By Per Peterson
Tracy Alliance Church has been hosting a Thanksgiving meal for more than a decade. Last week’s version was extra special.
This year’s annual Thanksgiving meal marked the first time the public could get an inside look at the church’s new 5,800-square foot addition — a massive, open room with high ceilings and more than enough elbow space.
“The best thing is — we always used to have to take all of our chairs down and put all the tables up … now we can just walk in here, the tables are up, there’s room for everything” congregation member Mina Atkins said. “It’s fabulous.”
More space for the big meal. Less time spent hauling chairs and tables. Seems like a win for everyone.
“There wasn’t enough space before — this is so great,” Atkins added.
The added space is a blessing for everyone in the church, and especially at this time of year, for those like Atkins who are in charge of putting the Thanksgiving meal together.
“We’ve noticed that every year the Thanksgiving meal has been expanding,” said congregation member Katie Meiner.
“So, it’s nice to be able to have that elbow room, where everybody is more comfortable.”
This year, 130 people enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal of turkey and all the fixings. There were another 43 meals served in take-out fashion.
Congregation member Doug Zeug shared that sentiment about the new room. He called the room and all the resources a blessing from the Lord.
“We’re very grateful to God for the cooperation of so many people in the congregation,” he said. “Just the faith, prayers of the congregation that assembled this — before it was even built, and of course the construction itself.”
The prayers, and the fundraising, have definitely paid off, as the new room was debuted to the public on Thanksgiving. However, the congregation has been enjoying the addition since Labor Day weekend, and many people have used the room already.
See this week’s Headlight Herald for more on this article.