Lower Deer Creek Church raises the turkey

Pastor peers through donations Pastor Guy Studebaker still had a little window to peer through to give his sermon last Sunday, but he expects to be hidden behind the stack of food and other collected items by this Sunday’s service. Comet photo by Jennifer Archibald Members of the Lower Deer Creek Church of the Brethren have been having fun with a food collection project called “Raise the turkey, hide the pastor.”

The idea was to collect food for the Carroll County Food Pantry and stack it in the sanctuary in front of the pulpit area. A stuffed turkey would be placed on the top of the stack and would be lifted higher and higher as the food items grew. The goal was for the canned goods and such to mount so high that they would eventually hide the pastor completely.

Pastor Guy Studebaker has no doubt that by this Sunday, his congregation will hear him, but not see him.

A mountain of collected goods At last count, 783 food items have been brought in for the Lower Deer Creek Church of the Brethren’s collection for the Food Pantry for Thanksgiving. The items have been accumulating in the sanctuary. Comet photo by Jennifer Archibald Not knowing how much food would be brought in, the church started out placing a small table with a tablecloth at the front of the sanctuary, thinking the food could be placed on and around the table. But the food started coming in fast, and the table had to be eliminated.

Some people outside the church read about the project and donated items. One six-year-old girl asked guests coming to her birthday party to bring food items for the collection instead of birthday gifts. She’s from Rossville but her grandfather, greatgrandfather and other relatives go to the Lower Deer Creek Church. She requested that the food brought to her party be divided between the food pantry at Flora and the one at Rossville.

The church’s two-month collection has amassed 783 items (as of Monday), and that doesn’t count seven cases of food that were left at the church after the count had been taken.

There’s such a mountain of food and other items that church members have had to restack it twice, for fear of an avalanche. The pastor said one Sunday some jars of spaghetti sauce were leaning precariously from the pile, and he had visions of a terrible mess if the jars fell and broke.

Studebaker said a good variety of food has been brought in, along with paper products. Food items will be taken to the Food Pantry at Flora on Nov. 11, and the paper products will be given to the community Christmas Baskets project.

Church members with a jeep, a couple of trucks, and two or three vans will deliver the food, and youth of the church will help load and unload it.

The church is thankful for its blessings and wanted to share with others during this Thanksgiving season.