On Thanksgiving Day, St. John’s Episcopal Church offered a free Thanksgiving meal with all the fixings. The meal was available for community members at the Historic Cranmer Chapel in Winter Park. Ned Wallace and Janet Rogers helped organize the meal. They told Sky-Hi News that they served 300 meals – 80 dine-in and 220 take-out, a great success.

Beginning Dec. 1 through March 22, St. John’s will also offer free community meals every other Friday at Cranmer Chapel. The tradition of Friday Night Dinners began in 1999, when St. John’s parishioners would serve dinners to seasonal employees at Winter Park Resort. Many of these employees struggled to make ends meet, and many also were far from home. They welcomed a home-cooked meal, as well as camaraderie with others.

“The meals provide an opportunity for the employees to get to know each other in a warm, friendly environment, over a fresh, hot meal,” St. John’s wrote on their website. “The meals also provide an opportunity for the employees to meet the volunteers who serve the meals and become part of the Fraser Valley community.”

Today, St. John’s continues to offer meals, but now they are available to any community member who needs them.