"First, A Feast"
The warmth of Thanksgiving becomes literal at Ivanhoe Reformed Church, Riverdale, Illinois, as soon as a "Feast in the Woods" committee member lights the early-morning fire in the forest preserve shelter house. By 7:30, the first families will be arriving, bringing their coffee cake, doughnuts, or special bread to go with the already prepared coffee, juice, and hot chocolate.
"It doesn't matter whether the weather is good or not," says Pastor Thomas Bartha. "There's a roof over our heads and a fireplace at each end of the shelter. Adults and children alike have a great time eating, talking, and staying warm around the fires. Some even bring along Frisbees."
More than two-thirds of this congregation of 100 came to last year's feast, which included scrambled eggs and sausage.
Then the group drives directly to the church (15 minutes away) for the 10:00 a.m. Thanksgiving service. The outdoor attire—plaid flannel shirts, jeans, even boots—are welcome this once as the congregation enjoys, in Bartha's words, "an especially thankful feeling during worship together."
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