Thanksgiving is a wonderful celebration that kicks off the holiday season. It is steeped in tradition right down to the menu, which for most people revolves around a turkey. While some meal variations exist, the day is inevitably a license to eat – a lot.

While some poor souls skip breakfast the next morning due to overindulging the day before, I personally can’t fathom it as I am always on the lookout for my next great meal. Which brings me to my point.

The day after Thanksgiving, traditionally a day to overindulge in my other favorite thing – shopping – promises a special treat. Not being a hunter, I never attended a hunters’ breakfast but always wondered what it was like. Laughter, camaraderie and lots of blaze orange, no doubt.

Well, for all of you like-minded gals who are curious about community breakfasts but are hunters only in the “bargain” sense of the word, I have good news.

The First United Methodist Church of Brewer will hold a Shoppers’ Pancake Breakfast on “Black Friday,” Nov. 28. Shoppers unite. Before you begin your trek through the stores, you need to get nourishment to be ready for the big buy.

“Our church is very socially conscious of what happens in the community,” said Eva Benson, 78, chairwoman of the mission committee at First United Methodist Church. “The community is important to us, as is how we fit into it. Whatever the needs are out there, we try to be conscious of it and to help any way we can.”

So the mission committee did some brain storming and, realizing that this will be a difficult heating season for some people, came up with a fundraising idea with the intention to give money raised to the Brewer Community Council in support of its fuel assistance program.

“Our goal is to raise $1,000 between the two breakfasts,” said Benson. “The one we had in October had 50 people and raised about $460, so we are hoping to make that $1,000 mark with the shopper’s breakfast. And we are adding bacon to this breakfast.”

In order to “carb load” for a long day of shopping, breakfast will consist of pancakes, syrup, sausage, juice, coffee and milk. And of course, the aforementioned bacon.

The breakfast will be held 6-10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 28, at First United Methodist Church, 405 South Main St., Brewer. The cost will be your first bargain of the day – just $5 for adults and $3 for children under 12.

These breakfasts are only a sampling of the community works performed by the mission committee. Eva and her committee members recently collected winter coats, warm clothes and lap robes for seniors in need with items to be distributed through Eastern Area Agency on Aging.

They also work with the Shoestring Ministry, comprising members from all the Methodist churches in the area. More shopping. The Shoestring Ministry runs a thrift shop, appropriately named the Shoestring Thrift Shop, on Brimmer Street, next door to the church in Brewer. The shop’s hours are 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

After your delicious breakfast, check it out. The shop has everything from books to curtains, purses to videos, toys to linens. All the proceeds go for scholarships to help area high school students.

So, as you are enjoying your Thanksgiving meal with loved ones and giving thanks for all you have, keep a thought to the following morning’s feast that will help warm those less fortunate this year. Save a little room in your stomach – and your heart – for the Shoppers’ Pancake Breakfast.

Carol Higgins Taylor is director of communications at Eastern Area Agency on Aging. E-mail Higgins Taylor at chtaylor@eaaa.org. For information on EAAA, call 941-2865, toll-free (800) 432-7812, e-mail info@eaaa.org or log on EAAA.org. TTY 992-0150.