La Cygne, Centerville offer Thanksgiving meals on Saturday

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, both the La Cygne and Centerville communities will be able to attend community meals this Saturday.

The La Cygne Christian Church, 406 N. Broadway, will once again host the La Cygne Community Thanksgiving Dinner from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. The meal includes traditional Thanksgiving fare, and is free to everyone who walks in the door, however, donations are accepted.

The meal is also available for takeout by texting 913-731-2271.

The meal is sponsored by the La Cygne Chamber of Commerce, the city of La Cygne, area churches, Stainbrook’s, Brian’s Auto and the Ray of Hope Foundation.

The Centerville Community Church, which is a block east of County Road 1077, is hosting its annual Harvest Supper from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The supper will also feature turkey, ham, dressing and all the fixings. Organizers suggest a free-will donation.

The La Cygne community dinner began nearly a quarter century ago by the late Arlene Ramsey in an effort to bring the community together for an event at the beginning of the holiday season. It began by serving dinners at the La Cygne Elementary School. From there it moved to the La Cygne Library, and now area churches organize the feast.

Last year was the first year that the six churches in La Cygne & Linn Valley officially assumed a leadership role in the dinner, said Chris Ferguson, pastor of the La Cygne Christian Church.

“All spheres of our community participated for the setup, cooking, serving, cleaning, and funding of the meal,” he said. “We had community financial support, and we had many hands and feet that served one another together. It was truly amazing.

“Looking around the room throughout the event, the pace of life slowed down a bit. I saw old friends reconnecting & reminiscing about great times in the past. Neighbors making new acquaintances and catching up with old ones.

“Even the introverts were captivated to listen and share a thought or two. Every hour one of our churches would sing, play some special music or share a brief thought or two on ‘Gratitude!’ It was a special time together.“

Ferguson said there is something wonderful about sharing food with others.

“It knits our hearts together as friends and family,” he said. “In this crazy modern world of ours, we seldom slow down. May I encourage you to put this at the top of your holiday to-do list. Join us for this wonderful me because of our generous sponsors, there is absolutely no charge for your complete meal.”

However, he said, donations are accepted and they will go toward providing next year’s meal.

Carlene Brownback, one of the organizers of the supper at the Centerville Community Church also emphasized the role of eating together. She said that while the church doesn’t sponsor as many community meals as it once did, the members want to make sure that the Thanksgiving-style event was open to the community this year.