Lou Pocchiari and his family were at St. Peter Roman Catholic Church on Thursday for the annual Thanksgiving meal.

But it wasn’t a lack of food that brought the family to the church that day.

“The turkey didn’t defrost in time,” Pocchiari said.

It is an interesting window into these events. We see so many times the stories of people in dire need of a meal. We see so many times the dozens — or in this case hundreds — of people turning out to these events for a meal.

The church on Thursday provided an important service to the community by feeding those in desperate need of a meal. But they also met the social needs of some and the spiritual needs of others, and for some, a combination of these needs and others.

And in the case of Pocchiari and his family, they met an alternative need.

This wasn’t lost on the volunteers that day.

“We’re prepared for 900 people today,” said volunteer Kelly Zaccari. “There's all kinds of people that come. Sometimes it’s just for fellowship. Sometimes it’s for need. They could be someone who just doesn't have anywhere else to go.”

This is to say each person who walked into St. Peter on Thursday was there for their own needs, and they went to the church because they knew their needs could be met.

Eagle reporter William Pitts was at the church on Thursday to memorialize the event, and, in doing so, shed a new light on the topic.

That simple line — “The turkey didn't defrost in time” — makes you wonder what other sorts of situations folks were in that day. Regardless of their situation, they were met with warmth and kindness.

— RJ