WOODBRIDGE, VA — Members of Holiness Tabernacle Church Of God In Christ came out in full force to help make Thanksgiving a little bit brighter for those in need when they distributed more than 800 turkeys November 23 to the local community.
Not even frigid temperatures kept people from coming out to the annual event. People began arriving as early as 6:30 a.m. and in less than two hours the church parking lot was filled to capacity with overflow parking spilling over blocks away as a line of patient recipients wrapped around the church to receive their free turkey. The event was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.; however, because of the huge turnout, County Deputies, that had been contracted to control traffic, advised Pastor Pruitte and the Church to start earlier.
The price of admittance was simply a handshake and a hug as members of Holiness Tabernacle warmly welcomed the community and lavished love and kindness upon everyone who entered the church.
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“I think this is a wonderful outreach,” said Jenise Slaughter of Dumfries, who waited in line with her young son. “How the church cares for the community and is willing to do for the community especially for those in need. This is a blessing. A true blessing.”
For Donna Novitsky of Woodbridge, this was the third year she had come out to receive the church’s blessing. When asked what does the turkey give away meant to her each year, she replied without hesitation. “It means I can feed my kids,” she said. “I’m a single mom with four kids.” Novitsky also brought her neighbor along so that he could provide Thanksgiving for his family as well.
One bubbly and infectiously positive woman from Iran was enthusiastic as she shook pastor’s hand and accepted her turkey. “I have good energy,” she proclaimed. “This [the turkey give away] makes me very happy that the church would do this. I wish everybody a good time this Thanksgiving.”
Elder Eddie B Pruitte, pastor of Holiness Tabernacle COGIC, looks at the Turkey Give Away as an important opportunity for the church to show and demonstrate Christ’s love in action to the community.
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“The early days, the Church Of God In Christ was a community-oriented, neighborhood-friendly body of Christians,” he said. “The Church Of God In Christ under Bishop Charles H. Mason, those early forefathers and mothers met the need of the community.”
Holiness Tabernacle’s annual turkey give away meets the national church’s urban initiatives developed by Presiding Bishop Charles Blake. According to the Church Of God In Christ Urban Initiatives website, their mission is to “Build healthy individuals, families and communities for a successful future.” Holiness Tabernacle meets the goals of providing available programs for families and crime prevention by providing free food to those in need.
“I feel God is calling us as a church to spearhead, to show the way for our churches to be more community-minded, more neighborhood-friendly, and meet the needs of people, not just spiritual, not just temporal, but all of them,” said Pastor Pruitte.
This year, something different occurred during the distribution. The church’s newly established Evangelism Department was in active mode to help meet the spiritual needs of the community. Distraught souls weighted down by the burdens of life were gently removed from the line, given a turkey then taken to a private area inside the church where Holy Ghost-filled ministers and missionaries listened, ministered and prayed with them. Hope was evident as those who had entered with tears streaming down their faces walked away taller and encouraged.
Elder Guilford, president of the Evangelism Department said that their mission was two-fold, to give and to save. “Our plan was to give out turkeys to the people in need and take advantage of the opportunity to invite them to our church,” said Elder Guilford. “We want to introduce those who don’t know Christ [to Him] and witness to them that Jesus Christ can and will be their personal savior.”
In addition to ministering to those in spiritual need, the church strategically identified and targeted families in the surrounding area and gave them their turkeys the Friday before the big give-away. This year, we invited 30-40 wounded veteran families, making sure we directly targeted those in need. The church also worked with Westgate Elementary School to provide turkeys to more than 100 families.
Mr. Bill James from Virginia Commerce Bank, who considers Pastor Pruitte to be a friend first and a client second, was also on hand to help pass out turkeys to the masses. A fixture at the event every year, James was touched to see the amount of people who travelled to the church in order to receive a turkey.
“To see the line of people waiting to receive this blessing just brings me to tears,” he said. “The turkey give away is a vital cause in this community. I feel proud to be asked to be here to do this every year. And I pray each year the church has me back.
The church also distributed food on the Monday prior to the giveaway during their bi-monthly mobile food distribution, in partnership with Capital Area Food Bank. This year, the last turkey was distributed within an hour and forty five minutes.
Occoquan Supervisor Mike May, who greeted guests alongside Pastor Pruitte, voiced his gratitude for all of the work that Holiness Tabernacle does for the community. “I look forward to this event every year and I appreciate the church’s efforts and what they do, not just today but every day.” he said. “And HTC continues to provide for many in our community; both spiritually and physically”
Recognizing the tremendous role Holiness Tabernacle plays in providing essential sustenance to the community, May remarked on the vital need of partnerships between the local government and faith-based programs.
“Local governments need to partner with the faith-based community because there is so much the faith-based community can do that the local government can’t. So a good partnership is needed in that regard.”