2005 Year in Review

Families Needed for International Thanksgiving Fellowship

Applications are being accepted for the 2005 celebration of International Thanksgiving Fellowship Weekend, November 23-27.

Morrison Church Women United sponsor the program. It brings foreign students from Chicago area colleges, bu bus, to spend this uniquely American holiday in family homes.

Since 1963, families in Morrison and surrounding communities and countryside have welcomed students, and, sometimes, entire families.

Requirements for hosting are simple: sleeping spaces, a willingness to share family hospitality, and the expectation that hosts and guests will learn much about their respective cultures.

Local leaders suggest some activities for the weekend. All families and their guests will attend the traditional carry-in supper, candle lighting ceremony and entertainment on Friday evening. A drive to view the Mississippi is a must.

Other communities participating in International Thanksgiving Fellowship include Geneseo, Paris, Prophetstown, Rockford-Freeport, and Sterling-Rock Falls.

International Thanksgiving Fellowship weekend this year will be the first without the leadership and enthusiasm of its founder Trudy Trogdon, Paris, IL. Mrs. Trogdon died recently after several years of living with Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Mrs. Trogdon designed the program, which has provided cultural exchanges and hospitality in hundreds of Illinois homes for countless foreign students. Personnel at International House, University of Chicago, always have coordinated arrangements with foreign students advisors at the many colleges.

Inquiries about hosting International Thanksgiving Fellowship may be directed to Diki Bull at 815-772-3610. Application forms are at local churches and at the Whiteside News-Sentinel.

by  Editor, theCity1.com
November 10, 2005