For the 35th consecutive year, Royal Redeemer Lutheran Church here in North Royalton provided food, caring, and fellowship to many in our community who did not have anywhere to turn on Thanksgiving Day.
The numbers are surprising. Over the past years, Royal Redeemer has served between 1,200 and 1,400 meals on Thanksgiving Day.
Care and Share Coordinator Lynda Rudolph said she was prepared to serve 350 or more in the Royal Redeemer Dining Room. Plus, there were more tables available in the outer lobby of the dining room.
Many volunteers take to the roads to deliver meals to shut-ins, those with health issues and those who may not have transportation available to them. Rudolph estimated they prepared another 850 meals to deliver to those in North Royalton and beyond. On the menu for Thanksgiving Day was turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, rolls and butter and pie.
“It’s a labor of love, definitely,” said Rudolph. “I like the fellowship of the day and giving back to others, especially helping out those who are in need. We are helping families in Independence, Broadview Heights, Brecksville, Berea, Parma, Parma Heights, Brookpark and even into Cleveland.”
Lynda stepped in this year following Lisa Martin’s retirement after many years of service on Thanksgiving Day to Royal Redeemer.
Assistant Pastor Mark Rein got his first taste of the Thanksgiving Day event at Royal Redeemer this year. “For 35 years, we’ve been incredibly blessed with volunteers, donations, and financial support in order to offer our annual Care and Share Thanksgiving Day meal at Royal Redeemer Lutheran Church. We are incredibly thankful to have the opportunity to share the love of Christ in this tangible way with our community.”
Gary has been a volunteer on Thanksgiving Day for 10 years, and said, “I like to make other people feel good. It’s infectious. Happiness is infectious.” While Gary spent this year in the kitchen, “I’m pretty universal. I’ve been in the dining room to socialize with our guests. You get to learn alot from other people. The result is a lot of people having a nice Thanksgiving dinner.”
The shut-ins have various of reasons for reaching out to the Care and Share Program for Thanksgiving dinner. Sue was staying with her sister because her living space was being remodeled. “This allows me to have turkey on Thanksgiving.”
Debbie was suffering from COVID-19 and was unable to get out of her house or have someone come over. Plus, an issue with her leg won’t allow her to stand and cook. “This is so helpful. I’m able to celebrate Thanksgiving with my kids because of this delivery.”
Linda, who was celebrating her 86th birthday, was glad that she has visitors on Thanksgiving because her family and her children are out of town. “This is fantastic. Thank you.”
If you want to help others celebrate Thanksgiving Day in 2025, put the Care and Share Ministry at Royal Redeemer Lutheran Church on your list. Drivers are always needed, and you may see some of your friends or neighbors there, too.
By JOE JASTRZEMSKI
Contributing Writer
