Thanksgiving Dinners

In Need on Thanksgiving?

Cooking and delivering hot Thanksgiving meals has been a tradition at Ascension for many years. From the very beginning, Conrad Petzel was a part of the dinner preparation.

He gave his insight, his time, talent, and treasure to make sure it was a success year after year. Conrad was always the first on site and the last to leave. The meal had become something special to him, and he was glad to be a part of it.

In 2013 we lost Conrad to cancer and had to get all those meals prepared without the help of the guy who had been there since the beginning. His loss was big and felt by many. Jessica Porter, a colleague of his at Traditional Capital Bank, wrote to Conrad’s wife, Jenny, the following email after Thanksgiving:

There will always be a hole here at the TCB (Traditional Capital Bank) as he was a dad to many. On that note, the bank would like to do something to honor Conrad’s memory. We would like to annually sponsor the food needed to prepare for the Ascension Thanksgiving distribution meal. I know how much Conrad LOVED this and looked forward to it every year…we at TCB thought it would be nice to not have to worry about coming up with the funds or donations for food.

We are grateful that Conrad’s memory can live on in so many ways but especially in the tradition Thanksgiving meals.

Church of the Ascension provides about 1,500 Thanksgiving Day meals each year. Anyone expressing a need will have delivered to their home a meal of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, vegetables, rolls, and dessert between 10 a.m. and noon. More than 40 volunteers prepare and deliver these meals in Minneapolis and first-ring suburbs.

Requests for meals are accepted in November.