ORANGE PARK – Everyone who passed through the door of The Springs Church was greeted with a smile and a heartfelt welcome.

There was no judgment, no questions, no pity.

“We weren’t trying to build a church,” said Malinda Maroney, one of the organizers of Thanksgiving Day’s Feast of Plenty. “We’re here to create fellowship.”

Some were homeless, some were seniors who either couldn’t afford or didn’t have the ability to create a holiday feast, and others were families struggling to make ends meet. But a significant portion of the people enjoying heaping plates of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls and pie wanted companionship on the one day the nation slows long enough to reflect, no matter their lot in life, on the things they are still grateful for.

Nobody appreciated the feast more than Kevin and Jeff. They were cleaned and shaved. This was a special moment for both because it marked yet another milestone in their sobriety journey.

“I came here because I don’t have a home,” Kevin said. “I’m living in a motel room. I didn’t want to be around drinking and drugging. I was saved 60 days ago. I’ve been sober 90 days now.”

His friend, Jeff, is his roommate. He, too, is celebrating sobriety. Both work for a tire company but at different stores.

“I’d rather be here than anywhere else,” Jeff said. “This is very positive. There’s been too much negative in my life.”

Both said they heard about the feast from another guest at their extended-stay hotel. They said the time away from that atmosphere is time away from the influences that pulled them into a hole of despair.

John and Tana sat at another table. John is a wheelchair-bound Vietnam veteran; his wife is deaf and recently broke her right shoulder. To make matters worse, somebody rear-ended John the day before Thanksgiving and crushed his wheelchair.

“I guess we could have stayed home and swung it (Thanksgiving.) It would have been hard because you really need two hands to make a meal like that,” John said.

When guests arrived, they were invited to take a seat and served their meals and drinks. Organizers said they wanted everyone to feel pampered and avoid going through a cafeteria-like serving line.

The feast used to be served at the First Baptist Church of Orange Park, but it moved to The Springs Church in 2023. The church prepared 500 meals and delivered a few to shut-in parishioners.

“It couldn’t happen without our volunteers,” said Maureen Lendzion, another organizer. “It’s worth it when you see these families come in.”