MORRILL – Members of the Morrill Baptist Church gave up a Thanksgiving at home with their families to celebrate a holiday dinner with the town.

For the second year in a row, church members prepared turkey with all the fixings and invited the entire town to dinner. Although most residents of this Waldo County town opted to do their feasting at home, those who accepted the church’s offer, more than two dozen people, were more than satisfied.

“Delicious,” Shirley Mushero said between bites from a steaming plate of turkey pie. Mushero, of Searsmont, may have been wheelchair bound, but that didn’t prevent her from rolling from one end of the table to the other to load up on a second helping .

Her friend Helen McAvey, of Morrill, praised the meal as well as her hosts. “This is wonderful,” she said. “We’re very thankful.”

Deaconess Brenda Rowlands said church members began preparing the feast Wednesday. By the time they were finished, they had enough turkey pie, squash, rolls, and salads to feed an army. The desert table was laden with pies, the coffee hot, the fruit punch tangy and sweet.

“Fifteen families helped get everything ready,” Rowlands said. “It’s a fun time, and it’s kind of a family affair with everyone working and serving together.”

Rowlands said the church wanted to provide a warm and welcome place for those whose families may be far away and for those who may be spending Thanksgiving alone. She said the church also would be delivering meals to those residents confined to home due to age or sickness.

“Most people have families and they spend Thanksgiving with them,” she said. “The idea was to have Thanksgiving here for those who don’t. We’re trying to keep a little of that traditional Thanksgiving flavor in the community.”

The Rev. Paul Harwood, church pastor, noted that church members also wanted to give thanks to those in town who make everyone’s lives a bit easier during the year. He said the selectmen, volunteer firefighters, teachers and others deserve to be recognized for their contributions to the people of Morrill.

“We just felt that as a church we wanted to let them know we love them and thank them for everything they do for us as a town,” Harwood said. “To tell our snowplowers that we appreciate them. We just felt that through all the years of their giving, it was time the church gave something back to the town.”

Morrill Baptist Church plays an integral part within the community and also beyond. The church has a strong missionary program, and members presently are sharing its ministry to 17 countries in Asia, Africa and South America. Harwood said that a quarter of the church budget goes to missionary work and service to the worldwide community.

“We feel the focus of the church is to reach out,” Harwood said. “Some of these country churches get locked in, but we believe in reaching out. This has always been a very mission-minded church.

“The Lord has blessed us with people of talent,” he said. “We have a lot of talented people in this church, and we all are very thankful.”