Faith leaders, residents unite in community thanksgiving
The Rev. Justin Medders, the Rev. Jennifer Deaton, the Rev. William Powell, the Rev. Tony Proctor, the Rev. Carrie Johnson, Fr. Sleeva Mekala, the Rev. Debra Walker, musicians Margaret Carr and Lora Delhom, and the Choir of First Baptist Church directed by the Rev. Molly Sorto joined families from across the community in a celebration of gratitude and togetherness at St. John’s Episcopal Church on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025.
by Lora Delhom
Leland gathered on Sunday night , Nov. 23, for a Community Thanksgiving Service that felt less like a program and more like a deep breath. More than eight of Leland’s twenty-two churches were represented — an extraordinary thing — and the sanctuary of St. Johns Episcopal felt full in all the right ways.
The service centered on gratitude, the kind that asks us not just to count our blessings but to consider how we move through the world. Pastors spoke about doing better, watching how we use our words and choosing to lift one another up instead of breaking each other down. It echoed a theme that has been running quietly through this town all fall — we heal not in grand gestures but in the everyday choosing of grace.
The Baptist choir’s music rose and settled like a prayer of its own, carrying different traditions into one shared sound. In that little sanctuary, each note lifted the one beside it until the whole room felt wrapped in a kind of vocal hug — a shared exhale. It was the beauty of song amplifying Rev. Justin’s reminder that our voices can carry grace when we choose to use them well. And when the service ended, no one rushed for the door. About fifty-five people stayed for fellowship, gathering in small circles that kept growing as new faces joined in. Laughter drifted across the room. Stories were shared. It felt like stitching — tiny threads of connection pulling the community even closer still.
For a town that has weathered a hard season, the night felt like a reminder that healing can look simple. It can sound like a hymn sung by many voices. It can feel like neighbors choosing to speak kindly, or pausing long enough to listen. It can show up in a sanctuary where churches that don’t always traditionally meet side by side decide, for one night, to do just that.
And as we sat side by side — Baptist, Episcopal, Methodist, Catholic, Presbyterian, Pentecostal — it felt like a soft weaving of Abrahamic traditions drawn a little closer. In a room filled with so many threads of faith, the night pulled us together in gratitude. And for a paper built on the belief that voices matter, the reminder was simple and true: our words can stitch a community together. May we choose them with care.
