First Presbyterian invites community to hot dog roast

By Hugh Fisher

hfisher@kannapolis         citizen.com

First Presbyterian Church celebrated the coming of fall with its annual Fall Festival Sunday afternoon.

About 200 gathered on the back lawn of the church for games, rides and a hot dog roast, all celebrated with fellowship, Christian music and a message of community unity.

The free festival was open to all, and church members made a special effort to invite their friends and neighbors.

Emily Martens, 13, brought school friends Autumn Carter, 13, and Destiny Carter, 11, to First Presbyterian to roast hot dogs and enjoy the games.

“It’s good to be here, hanging out with God’s people,” Martens said.

Destiny Carter said her favorite part of the day so far had been decorating a cookie with icing and sprinkles – one of the “artistic” attractions, along with face painting and pumpkin decorating.

“We very much want to be open to anybody who comes by. Anyone is more than welcome,” said the Rev. Joe Crawford, First Presbyterian’s pastor.

The dinner was a truly churchwide effort, he said.

“We wanted this to be for everyone, inviting them and offering something that’s fun,” Crawford said.

“It’s been wonderful. God’s given us a gorgeous day,” said Kris Edscorn, director of ministries at First Presbyterian, gesturing to the cloudless blue sky.

Crawford said the event was designed to have something for everyone.

Adult visitors from the community were given coffee mugs filled with slips of information on First Presbyterian. They also had the chance to enter a free drawing for a gas card.

Inside a ring of colored pennants, Hannah Fowler of Rockin’ “D” Stables led riders around in a cart pulled by Silver, a Shetland pony.

Across the field, 13-month-old Aiden Harrison grinned as he sat inside Engine 21 from the Kannapolis Fire Department’s Station  2, holding a red plastic “Fire Chief” helmet.

“You want to get up there and play, don’t you?” his grandmother, Sarah Harrison of Kannapolis, asked.

Kids held metal rods to roast hot dogs as music by Christian band Jars of Clay played over a speaker system.

A hayride took 20 people at a time through the streets of Cannon Village.

The inflatable “Moonwalk” gave younger children a chance to work off some of the energy they got drinking tea and lemonade.

Finally, at sundown, Crawford led the group in a short service. “This is really exciting for me,” Crawford said to the assembled families. “We are crossing all sorts of boundaries. Look around us … look at all the diversity.”

While most of the crowd was made up of younger people and their families, many longtime church members also attended.

Frances and Ray Milem sat on the edge of the lawn and enjoyed their hot dogs and fixin’s.

“I love to see the young people come out,” Frances Milem said. “The Lord’s been good to us.”

She has been a member of the church since she was 9 years old. “I love my church,” she said. “They are a church family that’s always been with me.”

Many at First Presbyterian hope the visitors who came out Sunday will keep coming back.

“We’re tried to use this as a means of getting out into the community,” said Frank Gibson, a member of the church’s outreach team.

Bill Stricker, the team’s chairman, called the event a success. “It’s an opportunity for all these folks in the community to get to know us, for us to make them feel at home,” Stricker said.