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Thanksgiving at Dignity Village

Janet Dignity Village

By Janet Acree

Former SSP Staff

 

This Thanksgiving, I was blessed with the opportunity to serve. What started out as an idea thought up by Robbie Frederiksen and shared with me over the summer, became the most meaningful Thanksgiving experience I’ve ever had.

With the support of Fremont United Methodist Church, Robbie and I spent our Thanksgiving morning receiving food donations from various church members to take and serve at Dignity Village in Portland. A group of volunteers helped us transport and set up the meal.

In an area just ten minutes down the road from Fremont UMC, right in front of the city’s compost plot, a group of structures lend themselves as housing for 60 people without homes. We arrived to find a number of tables already set up and a group of very hospitable hosts.

We quickly set up the food and shared a traditional Thanksgiving meal with the people of Dignity Village. This experience truly encompassed the meaning of Thanksgiving for me, and I give thanks for all who helped to make it a success: the members of Fremont UMC who took time from cooking their own family’s meal, using precious oven space to prepare something for this dinner; the volunteers who chose to spend their day serving; and most importantly Robbie, whose commitment extended beyond Thanksgiving, taking time to plan and organize with his church and Dignity Village long before the holiday.

 

Editor’s Note: This was originally published in the December 2013 edition of Inside the Margins, SSP’s Monthly E-Newsletter. Sign up to receive stories like this every month!