For decades, Celebration Tabernacle Church has served free Thanksgiving dinners at its sanctuary in North Portland, welcoming a constellation of community members seeking a holiday meal. It partners with Po’Shines Cafe de la Soul, right next door, to prepare and hand out the food.

A fire outside the church last summer has changed plans this year, though.

“Putting out the fire was daunting and it caused lots of smoke and water damage inside our beautiful sanctuary,” said Amy Rutherford-Close , who organizes the annual event.

So instead of turning the sanctuary into a Thanksgiving banquet hall, more than 40 volunteers will be handing out 1,000 meal boxes at Po’Shines on Thursday afternoon for diners to take home with them.

“That’s the job of the church,” Rutherford-Close said. “We

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