Basket Night at Thursday Night Supper & Social

Got a request from The Cambridge Times for a brief description of one of our Christmas traditions from the Thursday Night Supper and Social. Looks like they finally didn't have room to print it. But I still thought that there is something well worth sharing there. This is what I wrote:

Thursday evenings from Thanksgiving to Easter, St. Andrew's Hespeler Presbyterian Church on Queen St. in Hespeler opens its doors to all who wish to come in for supper. The welcome is always warm and the food, provided free of charge, is always tasty and nutritious.

The best thing about the Thursday Night Supper and Social, however, is the community that has formed over the years it has been offered. Both our guests and our volunteers look forward each week to the opportunity to meet and talk and catch up on what has been going on in each other's lives. There is plenty of mutual support and encouragement.


All of this becomes even more evident as Christmas approaches. For example, at the most recent Thursday night, the volunteers wanted to prepare special baskets full of treats for our guests. With the help of many in the congregation and in the community, over forty baskets were filled with a mix of practical and seasonal gifts. These were distributed to all the adults present on Thursday, December 11 in a wonderful party-like atmosphere. Everyone left with a lovely basket to put them in the Christmas spirit. A distribution of gifts to the children and youth who are part of the lively community will take place before Christmas.

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