St. Jacob’s hosts Feast of Gratitude, welcoming 160 neighbors for fellowship and thanks

A Feast of Gratitude was held at St. Jacob’s Lutheran Church on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. The event was made possible by the Stewardship of Life Institute, which was giving away a Feast of Abundance grant co-sponsored by United Lutheran Seminary and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Empower Community Outreach, which operates its ministry from St. Jacob’s, handled the cooking. The congregation was tasked with inviting people they had been meaning to thank to join together for a celebration dinner. It was a success, as 160 people filled Garnes Hall.

As the Rev. Angel Jackson, pastor at St. Jacob’s, tells the story, an advertisement for a random drawing came through her inbox. The only reason she applied was that it was the easiest grant application she had ever heard of, let alone filled out. In late August, St. Jacob’s received a check in the mail with the instructions to plan a community meal to celebrate God’s abundance — before Christmas. Thus, the Feast of Gratitude was born.

The first challenge was finding someone who knew how to feed a large group. Empower Community Outreach was already active at St. Jacob’s. Their mission is to empower the community to serve one another and provide resources to neighbors in need. Joshua and Holly Devore run this food ministry out of St. Jacob’s kitchen, and the church had been hoping to partner on a community event for quite some time. They began developing a menu immediately. As it turned out, it also became an opportunity for St. Jacob’s to thank ECO for being ministry partners as they prepare to move to Alabama early next year.

Since the purpose of the project was to spread gratitude, St. Jacob’s asked church members and ECO volunteers to invite people for whom they were grateful — people they had been meaning to thank. Folks invited family, friends and caregivers. They asked local pastors, nonprofit leaders and the president of the Lake Township Chamber of Commerce. Someone invited the leadership of the Lake Township Historical Society. The room was abuzz with laughter and conversation as old friends caught up and people formed new community.

Music filled the background, thanks to Neal Frey, an upright bass player and St. Jacob’s member, who offered to play dinner music when he heard about the gathering. He brought friend Jack Ciarniello to play keyboard. The two played a delightful mix of old favorites and early Christmas tunes and even took requests.

Guests were given a free raffle ticket upon arrival, and door prizes were handed out as dinner went on. Prizes included a homemade bird feeder from a St. Jacob’s member, St. Jacob’s apple dumplings from the recently completed fundraiser, donations for an art museum membership, tickets to Handel’s Messiah and two massage gift certificates. Watching people chat around the prize table as they decided where to place their ticket was almost as fun as watching winners’ faces light up as their numbers were drawn.

Often, when an event is planned, there is selling of tickets or a request for donations. In this instance, St. Jacob’s was able to provide a free meal with no strings attached. People invited those they cared about and appreciated, and the church was delighted to welcome them. Through the generosity of everyone involved, the evening became a reflection of God’s generosity and abundance. Those in attendance were blessed by the fellowship and gracious atmosphere.

As the evening wrapped up, kitchen volunteers set out to-go boxes for people to take meals to others who could not attend. One person prepared meals for homebound church members. Another mentioned a neighbor facing medical challenges. The final two pans of food went to a veterans organization.

Pastor Angel concluded: “God’s abundance was on display this evening. People have been remarking ever since on how wonderful it was. Yes, a great meal, but more importantly, the sense of gratitude and community. One of our recent members remarked, ‘Even as a newer person in the crowd, it felt warm and homey. I felt like I was part of a caring group of people.’ What a joy, to be a part of a cascade of gratitude and love.”