Dorchester Banner/Paul Clipper A group of volunteers portion cranberry sauce before the Thanksgiving Day meal served to 1400 at Grace United Methodist Church in Cambridge.

CAMBRIDGE—Pastor Christina Blake and the members of Grace United Methodist Church, along with dozens of volunteers, hosted its 11th annual Community Thanksgiving Day Dinner last Thursday. Planning began several months ago and food preparation began on Wednesday.  Volunteers got together to peel potatoes, chop onions, make dressing and get 30 turkeys ready for roasting. On Thanksgiving morning the turkeys went into the oven.

Grace Church announced the beginning to be at 12 noon, but they admit that serving started at around 11:00 and continued without a break until about 1:30. In that amount of time they estimate there were 1400 meals served, an incredible feat for an all-volunteer kitchen.

More than half of the meals were carryout, given to people who preferred to eat at home, or delivered to folks who were working, like the Sheriff Department, Cambridge Police and many others. Transportation to and from the church was also available, as groups of volunteer drivers stood by.

Chairperson Betsy Jones spearheaded the effort, along with her husband Larry Jones, who served as “Head Chef” in the kitchen. They were assisted by many volunteers from the church, the community and many other churches that participated. It takes many hands to put this all together and to serve guests a hot, delicious Thanksgiving feast, and Grace United Methodist Church did an excellent job of pulling them all together to make a memorable holiday for all.