On the morning of Thanksgiving at least 12 men can be found around the huge island in the kitchen at Christ Fellowship Church pulling meat off the bones of many, many smoked turkeys to feed the hungry. It is a tradition that is 23 years old.
The community outreach program has grown to serve at least 450 people on Thanksgiving Day, but last year saw a first ever. According to program founder Julia Montz, they ran out of food. “We made sure that everyone who came before 12 got food, but the people that came after 12 did not. We literally ran out of food – everything,” she said.
Montz has already made adjustments to the numbers from last year to be sure that does not happen again. While she typically orders 24 turkeys, this year the order is 28. When Montz made her request for dressings and sweet potato casseroles of the CFC congregation, she asked for larger pans. She will buy more green beans this year and pass out more boxes of brownie mixes for the meal’s dessert. Each person takes two mixes and bakes them in a 9 x 13 pan, bringing them to the church uncut on Thanksgiving morning. Montz takes care to cut them all the same size.
Bridgett Lee with Raleigh Annex Apartments always places an order with Montz for to-go plates and picks them up herself to deliver to her elderly residents at the complex. Typical years see 35 to 40 plates, but last year’s order was 65. This year it has increased to 85 reflecting tough economic times. Lee apologized for the larger number. Montz said, “‘Don’t apologize for this.’ What she tries to do is make sure that people that need it are the ones that have it. Most of the elderly get a meal.”
In addition, Julia and husband Roy visit the Overflow Church Food Pantry in November to obtain names of those needing plates. She has ordered 600 to-go boxes as she knows she will have a larger crowd to serve this year.
The lunch is strictly a lay ministry of CFC – it is not a church funded or pastor led outreach. Montz believes that is one of the reasons for its success. She explained, “We have a gentleman, his name is Max – and his wife – we’ve never met. He’s a really good friend of Randall Childres. He sends us a check every year. Randall talked about it so much because they do that sometimes at their church. Randall was so impressed with how everybody worked how it was just donations and nothing from the church. Lots of people give up their Thanksgiving morning; that’s not easy.” Childres’ friend Max in turn was impressed. He has been supporting the ministry a few years now.
Montz added that anything leftover whether food or paper products the members donate back to the church for use in the future. Leftover monies roll over year after year.
This year the church also has a new pastor to celebrate, Bradley Edwards. He, his wife, Mary and their two small children, Elijah (2) and Lucy (5 months) moved to Magee from Birmingham, AL in September. This is Edwards first lead pastor position.
Upon arrival it was a little bit of a culture shock moving from a big city to a small town but Edwards is happy about it. It is what he wanted.
He graduated from Beeson Divinity School April 2023 and worked as an associate pastor of student ministry with Christ Church in Birmingham before choosing Magee. The selection process within the Global Methodist Conference (GMC) of which CFC is a member is very different from that of the United Methodist Conference. Edwards says pastors are chosen through a collaborative effort utilizing the regional authorities and the bishops that include presiding elders. They are pastors at a church who work part time as an elder in the GMC who are over smaller geographical areas.
Through a series of conversations with the president of the conference over Mississippi and Tennessee Edwards was asked if he was interested in moving to Mississippi. He asked to postpone for a bit as he had a baby on the way and they said yes. However, miscommunication occurred and he received his first phone call at the hospital after the birth of Lucy. He interviewed with several churches before choosing CFC as he believed this is the one he was called to.
“The very clear calling I have always felt is to serve the church to the greatest of my capacity where the need is greatest using all the resources I have at my disposal.” Edwards’ far reaching goal at CFC is the same as it would be at any church – “create people to help form and disciple people that love Jesus that want to see His work done in their communities and find ways to love their neighbors following the Great Commandment.”
The Thanksgiving lunch offers numerous examples of that commandment. “We have elderly couples that will come in early on that Thursday morning and have a cup of coffee and a donut. They’ll sit there and people will come and visit with them,” Montz said. There was one gentleman who took his donut and folded it up in his napkin, saving it for later in the day. Montz got him a second one so he could enjoy one with his coffee and then again later.
She also shared a story about a man who was walking through town and stopped at a gas station asking if there was somewhere he could get something to eat. He was directed to CFC. He arrived and Montz brought him in and prepared a plate. Once fixed, he moved to go outside to eat when she insisted he remain in the fellowship hall so he would have company while he ate. She said his response to that was “this has never happened to me. You are the nicest people.”
This is why CFC continues with the outreach. Montz has to take her time; 23 years takes a toll on the body. She is 75 but will continue for now. “I figure God will tell me when to stop.”
