Athens Limestone Ministerial Alliance is sponsoring a Thanksgiving service for the community residents at 6 p.m. on Nov. 19 at First Baptist Church in Athens. Calvin Havens, pastor of Friendship United Methodist Church, and Edwin Jenkins, pastor of First Baptist Church of Athens, said the service is a gift to the community from churches of Limestone County, and all churches and congregations are invited.

“No one in Athens is going to want to miss this, because they’ll say ‘were you not there?,’” said Jenkins. “It’s a massive endeavor to bring all congregations, churches and Christians coming together to worship and give thanks.”

Jimmy Bassham of First Methodist Church will be the keynote speaker at the Thanksgiving service.

Ryan Leffel, the music minister of First Baptist Church, will lead a community choir. A community choir practice will be at 5 p.m. before the service. For more information about the community choir, contact Leffel at 232-0602

Mayor Dan Williams and Athens City Councilmen will be present at the event. Williams will recognize city councilmen and city employees. The Rev. George Dudley of First Christian Church will acknowledge all churches and pastors present at the event. One student from Clements High School and one student from Athens High School will also give testimonies.

Jenkins and Havens said the event is an effort by ALMA to show the community that churches in the area are unified. They said they want to bring people together and bring the word of Christ to the community.

“This is a way to say we’re complimenting and cooperating, not competing,” said Jenkins. “We want to let this community know we’re here to minister in the name of Jesus Christ.”

A reception, sponsored by First Baptist Church, will take place after the service in the Family Life Center of the church.

The event is also the first official kick-off of the new community benevolence program of Limestone County Churches Involved.

The program will help people in need with things such as food, clothing, and medication, said Havens.

“It’s hopefully going to be a better way to address the benevolence needs in the community,” he said.

The offering taken at the Thanksgiving service will go toward getting the Limestone County Churches Involved program started.

For more information about Limestone County Churches Involved, contact Celia Jackson, president of the program, at 233-7669.