The Rev. Lisa Lewis Balboa wanted everyone who came to the Thanksgiving service Tuesday evening at Freeman Chapel CME Church to tell the gathering about something for which they were thankful.
She began by saying, “I am thankful for my health.”
Declarations of gratitude continued from the altar and into the pews, where a couple dozen adults and a few children took turns stating what made them thankful.
“I’m thankful for my wife for sticking with me,” said a young father. He and his wife were pew bookends to five children.
“I thankful for my brother,” one of their girls said.
Several people gave thanks for a relative, a pastor or their church family. A daughter. A new son-in-law. A wife who “makes life interesting.”
Alissa Keller, executive director of the Museums of Historic Hopkinsville-Christian County, said she’s thankful for friends and family who support her.
“I’m thankful for my students, who teach me more than I will ever teach them,” said Wayne Goolsby, a teacher at University Heights Academy.
One woman said, “I want to thank God for all the help he has given me.” Her adult son, seated beside her, said he was thankful for his mom, his church family and “especially my job.”
The Christian County Ministerial Association organized the community Thanksgiving service — the first in a few years. It was canceled the last two years because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Rev. Richard Meredith, pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, gave the message. He shared the words of Abraham Lincoln and Jesus Christ to acknowledge the source for thankfulness — blessings that come from providence.
An offering was collected for Joy Closet, a Hopkinsville nonprofit established 14 months ago to support children in foster and kinship care.
The Rev. Wade Miller, pastor of First Christian Church, said Joy Closet is already having a “big impact” in the community despite being in operation for a relatively brief time. The group has already helped 600 foster children with donations of clothing and other needs.
He asked the group to remember the children’s needs, along with the foster families, social workers and justice personnel.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
