The smell of Thanksgiving and joy of Christmas combined to create a special atmosphere Sunday afternoon at Hope Community Fellowship Church in Weissport.

Around 80 people turned out over two hours for the church's annual Christmas turkey dinner, offered free to the public.The menu featured turkey, mashed potatoes, filling, corn, green beans, cranberry sauce and dessert.According to Josh Rivera, Hope Community Fellowship deacon, the dinner is about showing gratitude for the community and spreading God's message at a special time of year."We like to display love to others the way Christ displayed love to us," Rivera said.Hope Community Fellowship has been offering the meal for over 10 years, said Norman Fritz, church elder.In the kitchen, about 15-20 church members, including Rivera's wife, Tanya, and her mother, Donna Lilly, prepared plates for the guests."We use about five turkeys," Fritz said.While the church serves meals every third Sunday of the month, Deacon Shawn Rudalavage said the Christmas dinner, always held on the Sunday before the holiday, is easily its most advertised and best attended.For many families, the turkey dinner may be their only opportunity to gather for a holiday meal."We definitely know they appreciate it," Rivera said."We see the same people year after year and it's really nice to be able to host them for an afternoon together."Hope Community Fellowship is by no means a large church with only around 25 members.But that doesn't stop it from opening its doors when many people need it most."It's humbling," Rivera said."The Bible tells us to bless as we are blessed and we try to do exactly that. With the little we've been given, we try to give back."