BETHEL FELLOWSHIP CANCELS ANNUAL THANKSGIVING MEAL

After careful consideration, Pastor Tom Nomeland delivered the unfortunate news that the Bethel Fellowship annual Thanksgiving Dinner has been cancelled.
The Thanksgiving meal has been served at the church for the past six years and is generally attended by 150 or more guests.
"We feel really bad about not being able to have the meal this year," said Pastor Nomeland. "We really like doing this and we really like having the people come here. But we want to keep everyone safe and respect their health."eota Public School will be passing out grocery bags filled with turkey and all the trimmings on Tuesday, Nov. 24 at the main entrance (see separate story in this issue).
Nomeland said the recent spike in COVID cases was a determining factor in the decision for Bethel Fellowship to cancel the annual event.
"We just felt there is too much of a risk," he said. "We don't want to spread this virus around. We want to be cautious."
The plan this year was to host the dinner while maintaining social distancing inside the church, while also having curbside pick-up for those who wanted to have the meal but didn't want to risk contracting the virus. And delivery of meals to those not being able to get to the church was also going to be available.
Nomeland said that if the situation with the coronavirus becomes much safer, Bethel Fellowship Church would host an Easter meal or even some type of a dinner next summer.
"This is a special time for families," Nomeland said. "We enjoy blessing people and want to be here for them. But this is just too much of a risk. We hope to continue having the Thanksgiving dinner next year."