HOLLAND, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – Another annual tradition in Holland has become the latest casualty of the COVID 19 outbreak.
The Holland Rescue Mission announced on Friday that its Great Thanksgiving Banquet will not be held on November 25th, due to the continued health restrictions imposed by the coronavirus. It has been held yearly on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, in recent years at DeVos Fieldhouse, with more than 1,500 receiving a free feast in 2019.
However, the Mission also unveiled on Friday an initiative to still feed hungry families in need. It would distribute “blessing boxes” and turkeys. Details are forthcoming through the mission’s website, but organizers will be looking for donations and volunteers, along with describing who would be eligible for these care boxes and how those who may qualify can sign up.
“This new plan is designed to show the love of Christ during the holiday season by caring for the needs of our neighbors, while respectfully following government guidelines,” the mission said on its Facebook posting announcing the banquet cancellation and the new initiative, adding this verse from Romans 13: 1-2, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.” (NIV)
The Great Thanksgiving Banquet follows in the line of Tulip Time, the Ottawa County Fair and the Labor Day Truck Parade in Holland area events canceled in 2020 due to COVID 19-related health restrictions.
