The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
WORSHIPERS GATHER
Group gives thanks for blessings
A group of worshipers spent Thanksgiving morning saying thank you to God for blessings past, present and to come.
The Elyria Ministerial Alliance hosted its Annual Thanksgiving Unity Service on Nov. 22 at Full Gospel Faith Fellowship, 1901 North Ridge Road, Lorain.
For some people, Thanksgiving may mean a family banquet, working or shopping.
But praise to God was the best way to start the day for about two dozen people who gathered at the church, which sits near where the Lorain city lines border Sheffield and Elyria townships and come close to the city of Elyria.
“We’re just going to give God his due and then get back to cooking,” said Gwendolyn Gilmore, co-pastor of the church with her husband, Richard. She also is president of the Elyria Ministerial Alliance.
With music and scripture,
“We’re just going to give God his due and then get back to cooking.”
— Gwendolyn Gilmore, copastor of Full Gospel Faith Fellowship
the group offered thanks for family, food, health and more. They prayed for those traveling, those in their homes, those at the service and for those who hear the word of God and want to change their lives.
Thanksgiving is a day not just to say thank you for the year, but for all the years of blessings, said the Rev. Addie L. Nolen, pastor of Elyria Church of the Rock, and the keynote speaker.
“Nobody but God woke you up this morning,” Nolen said. God was present when the participants went out of their houses, started their cars and arrived at the church, she said.
“Had it not been for the Lord on our side, where would we be?” Nolen said. “Think about what all God has done for you. He’s done so much. He’s done so much for all of us.”
She cited Psalm 100, asking the group to be unashamed and make a joyful noise unto the Lord.
“This is a lovely day to be alive, a day when we can give thanks to the Lord,” said Full Gospel Faith Fellowship Pastor William J. Campbell, who also is vice president of the ministerial alliance.
He noted the crowd was reverent, but small, so he referred to the Gospel story of Jesus healing 10 lepers.
“Ten people were cleansed,” Campbell said. “Hmmmm. You know
the rest of the story,” he added, because in that case, only one leper returned to Jesus to say thank you.
From birth until that day, God offered his providential care to bring along his people, Campbell said.
“And all that happens between that time, you were there, all the time,” Campbell said. “And today you are still great. You are right here with each of us. And we ask you to bless us and make us a blessing.”
Brenda Turner-Franklin, a Lorain native who oversees International Anointed Ministries of Jesus Christ, read from Psalm 8. It is a song of praise for God granting his sons and daughters dominion over the creatures of the earth.
“O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth,” she read.
“No other name more excellent than his name,” Gilmore said. “He is so good, we just can’t tell it all. Hallelujah.”
The group had an offering that the Elyria Ministerial Alliance will use for scholarships for students.
The alliance promotes unity, not that believers would be uniform, but one in Jesus and the Holy Spirit, Gilmore said. God is not finished with the group yet, she said.
The service concluded with a call to the altar. Before departing, those attending concluded by encouraging each other with a testimonial.
“Shake somebody’s hand,” Gilmore said, “and say, God is real.”