Canvas Community Church is hosting a free Thanksgiving dinner on Nov. 28.

Shanon Stowe, the Executive Pastor at Canvas, said the dinner is open to anyone who wishes to attend.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to reach into the community and anyone who either may not have any family locally or maybe they don’t have anywhere to go or anyone to gather with,” said Stowe. “This is just a great, safe place for them to come and get a great meal, a traditional Thanksgiving meal, but also to connect and fellowship.”

This year’s dinner includes turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, and an assortment of desserts. Stowe says that they have plenty of volunteers for the Thanksgiving dinner due to an abundance of community-focused members in their congregation, but there are other volunteer opportunities with them.

“We are always looking for volunteers for our regular meals that take place every month and we accept a lot of community partners who come in and help us serve at those meals, so if anyone is interested, they can absolutely reach out to us,” said Stowe.

Canvas is part of a network of churches that host a free, hot meal every week of the month under the One Day of Hope umbrella. The church always provides the meal on the fourth Thursday of the month, which falls on Thanksgiving.

“It’s just something that we really believe in and we’re thrilled that we get to do it every year,” said Stowe.

There are no requirements for entry to the dinner, and Stowe says there has been a great turnout in years passed.

“We have a little bit of a different crowd on Thanksgiving than we do on the other months that we host the dinner,” she explained. “I think that that is strictly because it is on Thanksgiving, so a lot of times we get to meet a lot of new faces on that night, and it’s just really awesome.”

In addition to providing a warm Thanksgiving meal and fellowship to those who may need it, Stowe also hopes attendees leave feeling seen, loved, and embraced.

“We hope that they know that they matter and that they are worth seeing, that there is hope in the world for them, that there is light, that there is good, and that there is love,” she said. “We also get the opportunity to pray with our guests if that’s something that they are open to which is also very special because many members of the community are going through very tough times whether it’s financially or relationally or through their health physically and so many of them are just looking for connection.”

“It’s a really great opportunity for us to join with them in prayer over the circumstances that they are facing in their lives,” Stowe added.

The dinner will be hosted in the Canvas Community Church shopping center located at 1916 McArthur Street in Manchester beginning at 5:30 p.m.