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32 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, November 28, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend November 26, 2004 Sue Nelson, left, a volunteer with the Lighthouse Church, delivers a Thanksgiving dinner to Maxine, a resident of the Hotel Medford. The dinner was prepared at the church, bagged, then brought to those in need of a holiday meal. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Extra helpings Volunteers deliver holiday meals with spirit of the season — and of the heart By Bill Varble Mail Tribune Rain is falling from a heavy sky as Dawn Coffman gathers her troops. "We’ve had over 100 calls," she says, her voice rising over the din of the church kitchen. What these people have in mind is turkey dinner for the multitudes. "Ten minutes ago a 90-year-old lady called," Coffman says. "She said she was alone." Coffman paints a picture of escalating need around the Rogue Valley for her volunteers. Advertisement Earlier in the morning Dawn’s husband, the Rev. Bud Coffman, of Lighthouse Church, estimated volunteers would deliver 60 or 70 turkey dinners to shut-ins. With the increased response, that’s out the window. Anybody who wants a home-cooked meal delivered on Thanksgiving can call and get one in this annual event the church publicizes in the newspaper and on the radio. Period. No strings attached. "They’re grandmas and grandpas and people who can’t get out," Dawn says. "So when you walk up to that door, I want a smile and a hug. At least a handshake." She pauses for a second. "Remember, we’re not doing them a favor. We are blessed to help." There’s a flurry of activity as volunteers bag up turkey dinners and trimmings. Everything is scratch cooked. The potatoes, pie crusts, everything. Volunteer cooks have been handling the industrial-scale kitchen operation since early this morning. Still others are checking lists, organizing delivery vans. Vans will visit the Medford Hotel and the Grand Hotel, Medford residential hotels, as well as homes around the valley, a veterans group and the Phoenix Police Dept. In the afternoon the second phase of the annual program kicks in. That’s when 200 to 300 will people show up to eat at the church. Many — although not all — will be homeless. "It’s a place for guys to have a break," Bud says. Dinners are stuffed into large Food 4 Less grocery bags from — turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, yams, cranberries, pie — and hustled into waiting vans. Gary and Sue Nelson, one of the delivery teams, say they couldn’t thing of a better way of spending their 39th Thanksgiving together. The church got a lot of calls from the Medford Hotel, where many residents have disabilities that prevent them from getting out and about. Accompanied by 11-year old Sarah Hamilton, of Sams Valley, the Nelsons clutch a ton of bags and head into lobby of the high-rise structure. Resident Rodney Ehrlich greets them, piloting a motorized cart. "This means a whole bunch," he says. "Otherwise I’d probably be staring at my walls." "Sometimes they can’t believe it when the meals come," says assistant manager Barbara Marshall. "Last year many people from the hotel went to the church. They’re gung-ho. They’ll go whether it’s raining or not. But one man has no legs. This year the participation is so much better." The Nelsons prowl the empty hallway of the first floor until they find the room of a woman named Laura. Her note on the door says to knock loudly and allow extra time for her to answer. "Happy Thanksgiving," Sue says as the door opens, shoving forward a bag that smells like Thanksgiving at home. "Oh, to you too," Laura says. They hug. So it goes. Up and down the worn hallways of the hotel. Sometimes there are prayers. Sometimes there are hugs. Always there are thanks. A woman named Maxine laughs with delight. Sue asks if she wants a prayer. Yes, Maxine has two sick friends she could pray for. "Do you believe God can heal?" Sue says. Maxine believes. Sue prays with Maxine. "Al these people were just like you and me," Sue says to Sarah a minute later. "Then one day something happened and they couldn’t go out anymore." Some of the people who called in for dinners are not home. That means the team has some dinners left over. It’s not as if that’s a problem. When they finish at the hotel the Nelsons head back to the church. And there’s plenty of need to go around. Reach reporter Bill Varble at 776-4478 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities