This story is part of In Keeping the Faith, a series exploring modern faith.
It’s November 27, 2025 — Thanksgiving Day. As you walk through the doors of Allisonville Christian Church, you can smell homemade food, from turkey to green beans to pumpkin pie. Even the cranberry sauce is made from scratch.
While many celebrate the holiday with their family at home, church members prepare for those who may not have the means to make a meal or do not want to spend the day alone.
“There has to be people out there who have no place to go, or they don’t want to cook, or whatever reason, and we wanted to extend our family table out to anyone who wanted to come and share a meal,” said congregant Donna Callahan.
Callahan and her family started the Thanksgiving tradition in 2017. Now, the entire church gets involved, whether by donating food, cooking in the kitchen or serving food.
A point Callahan made clear to the volunteers was to not force religion into their conversations. She wanted everyone to feel welcomed, regardless of their viewpoints or religious ties.
“I’m not one who goes out and shares just to anyone my faith. It may eventually come up in conversation that I go to church, but I do not push it. I hope that people see in me my faith and want to ask about that,” Callahan said.
In 2025, the church voted unanimously to become an Open & Affirming congregation. This is a designation from the Disciples of Christ that denotes churches’ commitment to the LGBTQ+ community.
“There’s something that’s particularly powerful about how this congregation not only shows up to welcome people, but affirms people for who they are,” said Rev. Sarah Zuniga, associate minister of outreach and growth.
“There’s times we don’t get it right, and I will be the first person to say that. But, there’s a lot of things we do really well and something this church does really well: we know how to be welcoming,” Zuniga said. “We know how to affirm people.”
The welcoming environment is one of the reasons Callahan and her family started attending Allisonville Christian Church after their church on the near east side closed.
But it wasn’t an easy sell for Callahan’s mother, Margie Ray, who is 84. She was used to her home church and was reluctant to try something new.
Now, Callahan’s family, along with Ray, have been members of Allisonville Christian Church for more than 11 years.
Listen to Margie Ray as she talks about finding acceptance and learning to be accepting.
At the end of the day, the congregation served 101 meals to community members, all for free.
“My love language is cooking,” Callahan said. “Meals done from scratch. And I just want to share that, and give someone who may not have that home-cooked meal. Maybe they’re a senior and they live by themselves and eat the processed TV dinners. I want them to feel like they matter, at least for one meal.”
Callahan is planning the 2026 meal, and anticipates it being from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Nov. 26.
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Brett Phelps is a community photojournalist for Mirror Indy in partnership with Report for America and Catchlight Local. Contact Brett by email brett.phelps@mirrorindy.org.
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