WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | Orangeburg faith community comes together for Thanksgiving

Orangeburg faith community comes together for Thanksgiving

By Taylor Kearns - bio | email

ORANGEBURG, SC (WIS) - Volunteers from at least a dozen churches filled Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School on Thanksgiving Day to feed, well, everybody.

"There have been individual churches who've done them in the past but they've never come together to formulate one body," said Pastor Antonio Gathers from Life Cathedral Ministries.  

"It has not been done before ever," continued Gathers. "This is history in the making."
     
Pastor Gathers says this is something Orangeburg needed.

"Our city's been kinda divided in some areas so we wanted to cross all genders, all races and come together and let God's love be shown among all people," he said. "We have a lot of people here in our city that may have fallen on hard times right now, maybe due to the economy or different things like that, so this is a perfect time to do it."

But Thursday's feast wasn't just for the needy -- the entire city was invited.

"They've forgone a lot of their Thanksgiving meals just to come and eat here with others," said Pastor Jud Jordan of First Presbyterian Church.

Jordan calls it a sign of solidarity not only for the faith community, but Orangeburg as a whole.

"It's a great day for Orangeburg a great day for God and a great day for Orangeburg," he said.

Pastor Gathers said the goal was to feed about a thousand people Thursday. He says he hopes the feast will become an Orangeburg tradition.

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