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Scott Green sings in praise during the Thanksgiving Community Service hosted by Churches of The Natchez Ministerial Alliance Tuesday at Community Chapel in Natchez. (Nicole Hester / The Natchez Democrat)

Mariah Rouser, 5, is held by her grandmother Ann Thompson during the Thanksgiving Community Service hosted by Churches of The Natchez Ministerial Alliance Tuesday at Community Chapel in Natchez. (Nicole Hester / The Natchez Democrat)

Bishop Stanley Searcy gives the Thanksgiving Message during the Thanksgiving Community Service hosted by Churches of The Natchez Ministerial Alliance Tuesday at Community Chapel in Natchez. (Nicole Hester / The Natchez Democrat)

The crowd applauds as Bishop Stanley Searcy walks up to the podium to deliver the Thanksgiving Message and Invitation during the Thanksgiving Community Service hosted by Churches of The Natchez Ministerial Alliance Tuesday at Community Chapel in Natchez. (Nicole Hester / The Natchez Democrat)

Brandon Renfrow holds his daughter Cheyenne Renfrow, 5, up on his shoulders during the Thanksgiving Community Service hosted by Churches of The Natchez Ministerial Alliance Tuesday at Community Chapel in Natchez. (Nicole Hester / The Natchez Democrat)

John Groue holds Noah Groue,5, during the Thanksgiving Community Service hosted by Churches of The Natchez Ministerial Alliance Tuesday at Community Chapel in Natchez. (Nicole Hester / The Natchez Democrat)

Isaiah James, 16, prays during the Thanksgiving Community Service hosted by Churches of The Natchez Ministerial Alliance Tuesday at Community Chapel in Natchez. (Nicole Hester / The Natchez Democrat)

(Nicole Hester / The Natchez Democrat)

NATCHEZ — A diverse crowd of people from churches and neighborhoods across the city came together Tuesday evening at Community Chapel Church of God to give thanks, worship together and help raise money for the Natchez Stewpot.

The churches of the Natchez Ministerial Alliance hosted a Thanksgiving community service at the church on Morgantown Road.

First Assembly of God pastor, the Rev. Scott Green, said he was thankful the Ministerial Alliance had the opportunity to bring our community together.

“We’re working toward bringing down denominational walls and racial walls,” Green said. “And to see this many people from different churches and walks of life coming tougher to worship is the begging of God to heal our city.”

Main speaker the Rev. Stanley Searcy from New Hope the Vision Center delivered his message on the attitude of Thanksgiving. He asked the crowd why people are more critical towards one another than they are thankful.

“As Christians we ought to have an attitude of Thanksgiving every day,” he said.

Searcy advised members of the congregation to think of four things for which to be grateful for every one criticism we have of others.

“Be thankful for our families, our jobs, our churches and communities as a whole,” he said. “Sometimes we are looking to get more and we’re not thankful and grateful for what we have.”

Searcy said, the community should focus on the positives instead of the negatives, focus on its strengths instead of its weaknesses.

Yoland Franklin said she loved coming to the service for the atmosphere and seeing everyone coming together.

“You know you go to some places and you can still feel the tension. Anywhere you go there is a strain,” she said. “It just wasn’t that type of feeling you could tell with everybody here. You could feel the love.”

Franklin said she was thankful for the different cultures, races and ethnic groups that gathered together for the worship service.

“The diversity of the crowd shows that our community wants to get together in a positive setting,” Searcy said. “I think we’re headed the right way.”

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