Many churches joined with local volunteers to offer free Thanksgiving meals to the needy as a way to connect with those in the community.
"I believe that God expects the church to meet people in a very practical way," said Rev Kevin Merritt of Stepney Baptist Church in Monroe, Connecticut, according to the Monroe Courier newspaper.
The church served an early Thanksgiving meal this past Sunday to celebrate the grand opening of its food pantry - a new addition that the church hopes will help spread God's message of love.
"Christ's Gospel teaches us to serve our neighbours without any strings attached. We are thrilled to be able to do this," said Merritt.
That sentiment was also shared by Jim Stady, pastor of Bible Baptist Church in Gulfport, Miss.
"Jesus said, 'When you do this unto the least of these, you've done it unto me,'" Stady told WLOX News. "So that's what we're trying to do, just to reach out and show people the love of Christ."
Knowing that many churches and charities would be providing meals on Thanksgiving Day, Stady said they decided to hold their dinner outreach a day early.
"We just have so much to be thankful for," he said. "God has been so good to us as a church, and even as a community. We realise there are still a lot of families that are hurting as a result of [Hurricane] Katrina, even though it's been a couple of years now. And this is just an opportunity for us, as a church community, to let people know as long as there's God, there's hope and there's help."
