Every year, when Thanksgiving morning arrives and the air feels crisp and calm, our Groveville family gathers early to give thanks, share breakfast, and celebrate how good God has been. This year will be no different. We invite everyone to join us on Thursday, November 27, 2025, at 7:30 a.m. for our 103rd Thanksgiving Breakfast, a beautiful tradition that reminds us how gratitude brings people together.
As our friend Ray Bell has told us many times, this breakfast began in 1922, more than a century ago, when Reverend Hubert Doran was the pastor. Groveville had a community house built in 1917, right in the middle of World War I. It cost $2,800, a big amount for those days, and it became a special gathering place for everyone in town. On the first floor there was a large hall where neighbors shared that first Thanksgiving breakfast, along with harvest dinners, games, and celebrations. There was even a basketball court and a stage upstairs for plays, Saturday movie shows, and Sunday school classes.
Ray always tells this story with such joy that you can almost imagine the smell of pancakes and coffee filling the air, and people greeting each other before sunrise. Later, in 1955, that building was replaced by our current Educational Building, which was completed in 1957.
That same space is still full of life, hosting dinners, plays, meetings, and craft shows. The second floor now serves as a daycare, filled with the laughter and energy of children.
In the 1970s, the teenagers of the church would come early in the morning to help with the breakfast, serving coffee and food with big smiles. Today it is our members who carry on the tradition, still serving with love, joy, and the same spirit of community that began so long ago.
Over the years, this breakfast has become part of who we are. We tell stories about our faith, our veterans, our history, and the generations that came before us. We remember that our church’s story goes back to 1836, and that our Sunnyland Cemetery is the resting place of 36 American Civil War veterans, three of whom were killed in action. Their names and units are written on the plaque by the church entrance as a sign of our gratitude and remembrance.
So this Thanksgiving, come and be part of this living story. Bring your family, your friends, and your neighbors. Enjoy the food, the music, and the warmth of good company. And as we share breakfast, may we remember that gratitude is something we live.
See you at the table!
Warmly,
Rev. David A Gaitan
