Last night, more than 50 Karis people visited Paquin Towers in downtown Columbia to serve Thanksgiving dinner. It’s the second year in a row our church has put on this event. We’re not sure of an exact count, but there were probably at least 100 residents who ate a really good meal. And we cooked (or bought) it all.

What’s exciting is that the average age of Karis is definitely in the 20s. We don’t have any little, old ladies who are used to potluck dinners. We have a bunch of young singles and couples. But they truly have loving, servant hearts and will do whatever it takes to seek Shalom in our city. Lots of people banded together. Even our worship intern, Bobby Schembre, a single dude, cooked a turkey! We had so much food left over that we ended up taking some to Sol House and St. Francis House.

More importantly, though, we got to hang out with the residents and show them the love of Jesus. I am so grateful to be a part of this community called Karis. God is making us into a family who loves each other and also loves those outside, beckoning them to come inside and join us. What a joy.

However, attention little old ladies (and men), we could still use some help – not just with sharing food, but with showing wisdom.

Photo: Grant Yoder

This entry was posted on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 8:46 am and is filed under Shalom.