The Boundary County Ministerial Association will be hosting a free community dinner on Nov. 20, the Sunday before Thanksgiving. The dinner will be held in the Boundary County Middle School cafeteria from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. that afternoon. All are welcome.

This will be the second annual community Thanksgiving dinner hosted by the association. According to Henry Yoder, president of the Ministerial Association, last year’s volunteers served nearly 400 people, and they are expecting an even bigger turnout this year.

Alan Hinson, who is currently acting as Treasurer of the Ministerial Association, says that the whole idea behind the dinner is to strengthen the bonds of our local community, and he believes that there are few better ways to do that than by coming together over a meal.

“Especially in the world we live in today, where you hear of riots and everything, it’s important to unite as a community.regardless of who you voted for, or whether you believe in God or don’t believe in God,” Hinson says.

Hinson, who serves as pastor at the Springs of Living Water Free Methodist Church, emphasizes that the event is all-inclusive and not a charity event: “It has nothing to do with being ‘needy’...If you’re needy, great, if you’re not, great. What matters is that you’re a part of this community.”

Of course the underlying mission of the Ministerial Association is to help the needy and they work year round to do just that, using donations to help people hold a steady job, pay their rent and put food on their table. As pastor Hinson points out, “Needy means: if you ask for it, you get it,”. In other words, the Assocation doesn’t screen people or turn them away.

“We want to keep people working, we want to keep people clothed, we want to keep people in houses, and we realize that from time to time [people] need help. That’s the purpose of the Ministerial Association,” Hinson told the Herald.

Hinson says that the association has already given lists to local churches with the food items they need. The lists are made up of the Thanksgiving staples most Americans are familiar with, such as: turkeys, corn, green beans and ham. And since the association is hoping to feed around 500 people, they are going to need a boatload of gravy.

In order for the dinner to be a success, however, the assocation also needs volunteers too cook and serve the food. While pastor Hinson thinks they will have plenty of volunteers. it never hurts to have extra help. Anyone interested in volunteering at the Second Annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner should contact Jacob Hinson, Alan’s son, at (208) 597-0504, or email: rollingdisciplefoods@gmail.com.