The year was 1967. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a march of 5,000 anti-war demonstrators in Chicago. The Detroit Riots had begun. The Civil Rights era was in high gear. But there was something else that year that burdened the hearts of six small churches in East Texas.

There was a big push to legalize alcohol in Smith County, a “dry” county. That push led four white churches and two black churches to come together and fight against the measure. They raised money for a cause — prohibiting alcohol from being sold in Smith County.

They also spent time in fellowship and worshiping the Lord — not as whites and blacks, but as Christian brothers and sisters. The cause eventually died out. The fellowship continues.

Celebrating Thanksgiving in Unity

Five decades on, only four out of the six churches remain. Antioch Baptist Church, Red Springs Baptist Church, Liberty Winona Baptist Church and Mt. Olive Baptist Church have kept the tradition alive for 51 years. It’s now called the Annual Thanksgiving Fellowship Service.

“Going back 51 years, racial relations weren’t maybe the best,” Dexter Jones, the service’s historian, told The Stream in an interview. “But this group of Christians of these different churches — at that time, four white and two African-American — came together for the common good of Smith County.”

The churches gave the money they raised to an organization that worked to keep alcohol out of Smith County. Jones, a member of one of the African-American churches, added that church members looked beyond race and came together with a common bond of loving the Lord.

God’s Children

After many years, Smith County eventually became “wet.” But the churches kept meeting for the Thanksgiving Fellowship Service. They decided to continue to raise money together. The money they formerly raised to fight alcohol now goes to help those in need.

“We, as a group, unanimously decided that we would give the funds to PATH, which is a [local] organization.” PATH stands for People Attempting to Help. It helps people with food, clothing and bills. “We are simply God’s children attempting to help others who may be less fortunate.”

The churches rotate hosting the event. A typical service begins with the feast — and whites and blacks share food and fellowship, love and hugs. There’s singing and worshiping the Lord, an offering, and then the hosting church’s pastor preaches the sermon. At the end, the pastor who has the most congregants present wins a turkey.

Making a Huge Difference

This year, the four churches raised $2,420. The Thanksgiving Fellowship Service was held Sunday night at Red Springs Baptist Church. One-hundred-four people attended. “These aren’t large megachurches,” Jones pointed out. “We’re not large congregations. These are small, rural churches that have small congregations, but it shows you that just a few people can make a huge difference in the lives of other people.”

The event takes place just before Thanksgiving because “[the founders] saw it as a time of giving thanks, giving praise, and where families and communities come together.”

Jones, 52, has attended every service. “Each year, I just think each year gets better and better. I love every one of them.” 

Simply Love

In light of the current racial angst, Jones has some words of advice. “Simply love and respect individual people, human beings. Don’t base it on the color of a person’s skin, their nationality, their ethnicity. But simply look at an individual as a human being that’s a creature created by God and simply love.”

He added that we should exemplify Christ’s love for others. Don’t “concentrate on differences but look at those things where each of us can make a difference and do good.”

Jones is thankful for the folks who started the Annual Thanksgiving Fellowship Service those many years ago. “I think they ought to be applauded that, at that time, they saw fit to come together for this cause. Here, 51 years later, it’s still doing good. We’re coming together as God’s children on the Sunday before Thanksgiving to give Him glory and praise and to help those that are less fortunate.”