United Faith Church shares Thanksgiving meal with soup kitchen

On Saturday evening from 5:00 until 7:00, spirits were high at the Copperas Cove Soup Kitchen as one church’s family group set up their Thanksgiving meal with some extra diners around the table.

 

United Faith Church, pastored by Bishop Clarence Drummond, has what they call “family groups” within the church so members can fellowship and get to know one another better.

 

“Each quarter we get together, and for this quarter, we decided to have our meal here,” said Elder Carl Deese, who oversees the group of approximately 15 families.

 

The kitchen was full as a group of ladies piled plates high with turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, potato salad, cranberry sauce, macaroni and cheese, along with greens.

 

“We started cooking on Friday morning,” one of the ladies said. With no room in the kitchen for desserts, a table was set up in the hallway for people to help themselves.

 

Families attended as did individuals, with some of the soup kitchen “regulars” coming out on Saturday especially for this Thanksgiving dinner.

 

The Copperas Cove Soup Kitchen, run by Patrick Robertson, is usually open only Monday through Friday, serving lunch and dinner, but opened especially on Saturday for the group from United Faith Church to break bread with the soup kitchen diners.

 

Carlos Clavell has been volunteering at the soup kitchen by providing handyman services, and he also stepped up on Saturday by bringing collard greens, cooked up with plenty of bacon and seasonings, to the meal.

 

Clavell said he likes to help out at the soup kitchen, and on Saturday, his two granddaughters, Mackenzie and Miranda came along. The two young ladies kept busy by serving hot plates of food to those who came for dinner.

 

The volunteers also prepared to-go plates for those who wanted a little extra to take home.

 

The Copperas Cove Soup Kitchen recently received a much-needed shot in the arm from volunteers with place 1 candidate Azeita Taylor’s campaign making repairs to the ramp outside and giving the building’s trim a fresh coat of paint, and with a local anonymous donor purchasing a gently used stove and refrigerator for the kitchen.