Nearly 200 enjoy turkey dinner thanks to Encounter Church

The musical duo “2Fish” performs at the “Christmas in the Burg” dinner last Sunday night

The community got a chance to enjoy a dinner and some live music thanks to a local church.

Encounter Church presented its second annual “Christmas in the Burg” Sunday evening featuring not only a full turkey dinner with all the trimmings and dessert, but live music, a Christmas story and even door prizes for a lucky few. Two seatings were held – one at 4 p.m. and the second at 6:30 p.m. - and organizers were pleased with the amount of people that attended.

“The turnout was really good,” said Pastor Brandon Cousineau. “We had close to 200 people between the two seatings. About 180, I’d say.”

Volunteers help dish out food at one of the two serving tables inside Encounter Church.

The dinner was free for the community, but the public had to pre-register.

Cousineau believed there were a number of reasons they had such a good amount of people attend the dinner.

“I think it’s because of the atmosphere. It is an opportunity to come out for a meal and have some family time,” said Cousineau. “Feeding Windsor provided the food and they did an excellent job.”

While this was the second year for the “Christmas in the Burg” turkey dinner, it likely won’t be the last.

“I’m hoping to have many more to come,” said Cousineau.

There were 40-50 volunteers help out with the dinner, from setting up tables and chairs, to washing dishes and setting the church back up into its usual configuration inside the sanctuary. Not only did members of the church attend, a lot of others from the town came out as well.

“We saw a lot of new faces,” said Cousineau. “People came who are new to our community or new to the church.”

Cousineau said “the church does this because we want to be an example of Christ in our community. He gave of Himself, his time and resources. We want to do the same. We want to share God’s love and the church loves the community. We want to help the community in any way we can.”

The church’s motto is “Love, Equip, Go” and Cousineau added the dinner was a way to live up to that.

Encounter Church is hosting a Kids Christmas Concert this Saturday at 6 p.m. The church’s children’s choir will be performing and there will be a reading of the Christmas Story. Admission is free and the church will be offering a bake sale and refreshments after the performance.

Encounter Church is located at 125 Alma St. in Amherstburg. For more information, call 519-736-5644 or visit www.encounteraburg.ca. 

Nearly 200 enjoy turkey dinner thanks to Encounter Church

By Ron Giofu