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Thanksgiving will arrive a bit sooner than usual for area foster families.

Friendly Hills Church in Jamestown will hold its ninth annual Early Thanksgiving Dinner from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Foster parents and their families from Guilford and surrounding counties are invited to the free dinner.

Church members cook the food and bring it to the church on Saturday afternoon. This year’s menu includes turkey, dressing, gravy, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, homemade cranberry sauce, rolls and homemade pies. The church packs leftover food for the families to take home.

The Alstonaires will sing, and there will be additional music by church member Peter Rogers. The Rev. Jeff Miller will give a presentation, and gift certificates will be drawn for four of the families. Two bikes and helmets also will be given away.

“This is such an important outreach to our community,” said church member Anne Turner.
The deadline to register for the dinner is Monday, though Turner said she will turn no one away.
“If they call on Friday before the dinner, I will tell them to please come,” she said. “God provides enough food and help, and I just can’t turn anyone away.”

About 25 church families will serve as table hosts, and the youth group serves the food. The kitchen workers this year are members of the local Campus Outreach Program at UNCG and Elon University.

Church members will decorate, work in the nursery and entertain small children during the program.
“All you have to do is talk to these families and hear how much they appreciate it, and you know it was worth all the trouble,” Turner said. “Our church just loves to serve these families and see the smiles on their faces.”

Contact Jennifer Atkins Brown at 574-5582 or jennifer.brown @news-record.com