Thousands of people showed up at a Maryland church Sunday for a little bit of help for this Thanksgiving.
It’s become a tradition for Ebenezer AME Church in Fort Washington, and every year, the need seems to grow.
Gift cards worth $50 were paid for with contributions from the church membership.
It’s still doing services online, but the ministry goes on, and on Sunday, people still went.
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“We’ve always been connected to the community, the church to the community, and we want to do the work to help those who are in need,” Pastor Jo Ann Browning said.
People waited in line hours before the grocery gift card giveaway began. The $50 may not go as far as it used to, but the need goes even further.
“We did it because during the pandemic last Thanksgiving, we saw the need was so great, we actually had homeless persons who were in the church parking lot at 2:30 a.m. waiting for the food gift cards, and so this year we assume there could be as many as 3,000 persons,” Pastor Grainger Browning said. “The line has gone back for 2 miles.”
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Things moved efficiently with two lanes and dozens of church volunteers working.
It took about an hour for the line to clear and for Allentown Road to be clear.
