Turkey thieves ruffle feathers, but inspire help
PENSACOLA, Fla. — There are worse crimes than stealing the Thanksgiving turkeys, sure.
But when you steal nearly a dozen turkeys that were meant for the homeless and hungry from a small Christian ministry, you’re doing more than just harming a few. You’re stealing from all.
“It’s a murder of the spirit,” said Chris Stewart, 60, who showed up at Epps Christian Center Saturday morning to offer support after 10 turkeys, computers and even a bank deposit were stolen early Friday morning from the little-church-that-could on Pace Boulevard. The turkeys were meant for Saturday’s pre-Thanksgiving feast at the church, where hundreds of meals were to be prepared for those who are hungry and poor.
But you can Grinch away the Thanksgiving turkeys, but you can’t destroy the spirit of the holiday — or the spirit of those who are determined to chose good over evil.
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Once the news of the theft spread on Friday, good souls started descending on the church property to bring food, supplies and even cash donations. People brought in turkeys. They brought in hams. And dozens of volunteers cooked all night Friday and Saturday morning to prepare boxed meals that would be sent to feed the hungry throughout Pensacola and even Century. Volunteers took meals to the Council on Aging and to other non-profits, while another truck drove hundreds of meals to a community center in Century. Afterward, hundreds who came to eat, bowed their heads in prayer, giving thanks for their blessings.
The mood of despair that had come after the theft turned to one of joy and thanks as people kept stopping by to offer food and donations.
“That’s God at work,” said Jesse Carter, 53, one of five volunteers from Foley, Ala., who came to help prepare meals. “That’s my God.”
Epps Christian Center pastor Sylvia Tisdale was the one who discovered the theft when she arrived at the church kitchen at 2:45 a.m. Friday. Someone had pried open the locked back door. The refrigerator was cleaned out. Computers were gone. Even the paper towels were stolen.
“It broke my heart,” she said. “I can’t figure out why someone would do that.”
But despite a broken heart, Tisdale’s spirit was still intact.
“The community has really blessed us,” she said. “People have been coming by ever since they heard.”
Stewart came to tell Tisdale he was going to go to the police to offer a reward for information on the theft.
“What they did was a violation of the entire community,” Stewart said. “It’s so disgraceful.”
E.W. Hopkins, 87, showed up just to give Tisdale a check.
Nan Wells came lugging a frozen turkey to be used for another meal on another day. Tisdale and the Epps Christian Center cook breakfast for the area’s homeless and hungry five days a week. But Tisdale does take Thanksgiving off to spend with her family and in recent years has always offered a pre-Thanksgiving meal on the Saturday before the holiday.
She had planned on serving turkey and fried chicken, along with all the dressing, veggies and side items you’d expect. But one man came with a large ham on Saturday, adding even more food to the mix.
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Tisdale was still a little sour because of the theft. But not too much.
“We’re making lemonade,” she said, referring to the old “lemons into lemonade” expression. “All thanks to the good people of our community.”
Follow Troy Moon on Twitter: @pnjtroy