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In true Thanksgiving spirit, congregation serves up free meals today despite loss of church building

Their church may have burned to the ground, but the congregation of the First Universalist Church still has plenty to be grateful for.

Today, it’s that they will still be able to host their annual community Thanksgiving dinner. The free meal is usually served in the church’s parish hall, but this year the event will be held at the American Legion, located right across the street from the church’s property on Main Road.

“We definitely still wanted to have the dinner,” said Ginny Cornell, co-chair of the church’s membership outreach and one of the organizers of the event. “We just had to find a place.”

For the past 30 years, First Universalist Church has served free meals on Thanksgiving day. The entire menu is donated and prepared by church members and local businesses.

“Everbody brings stuff,” Cornell said. “Everyone’s very generous.”

The community event gives people who might otherwise spend the holiday alone a place to share their Thanksgiving dinner, Cornell says.

“All kinds of people come,” she said. “People with family away, people who are alone – it’s nice to be all together. It gives them other people to eat with.”

About 20 volunteers from the church and the community spend their Thanksgiving day working in shifts to prepare and serve the meals.

Last year, 60 people attended the event. This year, 35 reservations have already been made.

“Everyone is always very grateful,” Cornell said.

This year’s meal was complicated by the loss of the congregation’s church, which burned to the ground in March. Church services have been held at the Custer Institute in the interim, and starting this Sunday they will be held at the First Trinity Church in Greenport.

“The community has been amazing,” Cornell said yesterday. “Everyone has been very generous and helpful.”

And this Thanksgiving, the church’s annual community meal was made possible thanks to the generosity of the American Legion, which donated its space across the street for the event.

Turkey this year was provided at a discounted price from Erik’s in Southold, which also donated other sides for the event free of charge. In addition to turkey, this year’s menu includes mashed potatoes, turnips, green beans and sweet potatoes.

There will also be a variety of pies and cakes to choose from, with many desserts donated from Flavors Ice Cream in Greenport.

The dinner begins at 1 p.m. today.

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Katie Blasl
Katie, winner of the 2016 James Murphy Cub Reporter of the Year award from the L.I. Press Club, is a reporter, editor and web developer for the LOCAL news websites. A Riverhead native, she is a 2014 graduate of Stony Brook University. Email Katie