Ocean City Celebrates Thanksgiving in Community Service

Religious leaders joined with local residents Tuesday for hymns, prayers and blessings during Ocean City’s joyous annual community Thanksgiving celebration.

Members of the clergy urged the worshippers who attended the service at St. Francis Cabrini Church to give thanks to God and to recognize the less fortunate during the national day of giving.

“It far surpasses any other giving season of the year,” said Pastor Erik Hall of St. Peter’s United Methodist Church.

Father Tom Newton, pastor of St. Damien Parish, said Thanksgiving gives everyone a time to reflect on the spirit of the holiday and to “show we are one people – God’s family.”

In passionate remarks, Pastor Marcia Stanford reminded the worshippers of their good fortune of living in the United States, while other people are suffering in countries ravaged by war. She praised God for the blessings that Americans enjoy each day.

“Do we take the time to just say, ‘Thank you, God,’” Stanford said.

    Patrick Gardner, pastoral associate for worship and music at St. Damien Parish, serenades the service on piano.
  

Stanford, of Macedonia United Methodist Church and The Shores at Wesley Manor, also urged worshippers not to forget those in need – including those in Ocean City – when they sit down at the dinner table on Thanksgiving Day to enjoy their traditional turkey dinners.

“I wonder if we remember that there are people right here in Ocean City that don’t have a Thanksgiving meal?” she said.

Sponsored by the Ocean City Ministerium, the Thanksgiving community service includes a strong charitable component to gather donations for food and clothing for people in need.

It combines the power of the Ocean City Ministerium with the Ocean City Ecumenical Council. They are faith-based organizations that reach out to the local community.

Pastor Jay Reimer, of the Ocean City Ministerium, said the Thanksgiving community service is a unique way for the Ministerium and Ecumenical Council to join forces on such a special occasion.

    A collection basket is passed around for donations benefiting the Ocean City Ecumenical Council's food and clothing drives.
  

Collection baskets were passed around during the service for donations benefiting the mission of the Ecumenical Council, including its food and clothing drives in Ocean City. Donations are the lone source of funding for the organization.

“We have some great organizations in New Jersey that help us raise money,” said Jack Shea, president of the Ecumenical Council.

The Ecumenical Council includes 200 volunteers, underscoring the commitment of local residents to help out, Shea said.

Shea told the worshippers that through October of this year, the Ecumenical Council has donated about 16,000 articles of clothing at its Clothes Closet at 550 West Ave. In addition, more than 1,200 local families have visited the Ecumenical Council’s Food Cupboard at St. Peter’s United Methodist Church, he noted.

This year, the Thanksgiving community service was shifted to the afternoon after previously being held in the evening. Reimer said Mayor Jay Gillian suggested moving the service to the daytime to make its safer for people to drive to church, rather than having to travel at night, especially during dangerous, stormy weather.

    Mayor Jay Gillian reads from a proclamation reflecting on the importance of Thanksgiving.
  

Taking his turn at the podium, Gillian read from a Thanksgiving proclamation that reflected on the history and importance of the holiday, starting with the celebration of a joint feast between the Pilgrims and Native Americans.

“As families, loved ones and friends across the country come together to celebrate Thanksgiving, let us be grateful for all the blessings of this nation and its limitless possibilities,” Gillian said, while reading from the proclamation.

Among the local residents who attended the Thanksgiving celebration were husband and wife Anthony and Johann Spadafora. Anthony, who is 92, and Johann, who is 89, attend the community service each year.

They are well-known for their family’s ownership of the Spadafora’s seafood restaurant in Ocean City. The restaurant is now owned by their son, Tom and his wife, Cindy.

Johann said she considers the Thanksgiving service a “wonderful way” for Christians to join together on the holiday to praise God and thank him for the blessings he has given them.

“I think that every holiday is important when we know that Jesus is at the heart of things,” she said.

    Ocean City residents Anthony and Johann Spadafora attend the Thanksgiving community service each year.