Thanksgiving dinner hosted at Harbor Light Church

Harbor Light Church was filled with people and the smell of turkey last Sunday night. The church hosted a Thanksgiving dinner that was free and open to the public. Thanksgiving dinners at the church have been a tradition since 2003, according to Pastor Kem Haggard. He said that it started because, back then, he and his wife were relatively new in town and wanted to meet more people and get integrated into the Wrangell community.

"What happened was our senior pastor had just resigned, and Susan and I were the ones who were taking over as interim, and we just wanted to get together with family," he said. "We just wanted to do a big family Thanksgiving, but invite anybody in the community who wanted to come."

Thankfulness has been a major topic for Harbor Light as Thanksgiving has drawn closer. The sermon that Sunday, before the dinner, had been devoted to the subject of thankfulness. Children in Sunday school got to cut out paper leaves and write what they were thankful for on them before sticking them to a "tree" on the wall. Even Haggard's prayer, before dinner, was about being thankful.

All the food, drinks, and desserts provided at the meal were provided by members of the community. People got to enjoy turkey, mashed potatoes, pie, green bean casserole, and macaroni and cheese. There were even less traditional items available such as sushi and apricot pudding. The evening was filled with people enjoying food and each other's company.

"I think it goes back to the hymn that we sing, 'Count your blessings, name them one by one,'" said Haggard. "Of course, any time is a good time to do it, but especially at Thanksgiving, to think about how many blessings[you have]. And of course, this community is such a blessing."