Apparently, CHAT has been doing Thanksgiving dinners since its beginning. I think it probably looked a little different when there were fewer kids, but CHAT has grown quite a bit in the past 12 years, and so has Thanksgiving Dinner.
In order for this to make the most sense, I'll have to explain a bit. I work at a tutoring site called The 20 Spot, aptly named for its being on 20th Street. It used to house kids from kindergarten through 8th grade, but has long since been split into two separate sites, so the 20 Spot Little Tykes (kindergarten to 2nd grade) now meet across the street at a local church. Many of our students at these two sites are siblings, so we have a number of families in common between the two of us.
Because family is so central to Thanksgiving, we combined our two sites and met at the church for one massive celebration. That meant that we were cooking and preparing for something like 80 or 85 people. See, it was all the staff/interns from the two sites, the students, the families that came, the tutors, and a host of volunteers who helped us put on this grand event.
All the 20 Spot staff and interns worked together all day making mac and cheese, collards, broccoli casserole, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, chocolate mousse and apple crumble. So many tutors and parents brought dishes to share as well. One family brought fried chicken, which was probably the most delicious thing on the table. I'm seriously considering asking the mom to teach me how that's done, because I could do with some more of that in my life.
It was incredible to see the people from all over Richmond coming together in Church Hill to give thanks and share a meal together. It wasn't perfect. It's wasn't the end point or a victory celebration for reconciliation. We aren't finished. But, when I think about what else was happening last night in this country, it's a small joy and peace in my heart to know that I was with my kids and their folks and my neighbors getting full of turkey and stuffing, saying grace and acknowledging the Lord's provision. It didn't fix anything, but it mattered.
