By Martha Jacob –

Winters can be long and hard on many people, especially those who are shut-ins, or choose not to go out in bad weather.
To combat those days, for the past 10 years, churches in the Village of Ripley have been holding special “Ripley Community Fellowship Dinners” once a month for it’s residents. But during January and February the Fellowship Dinners are offered once a week.  They will be held every Thursday, between 5 and 7 p.m., according to Reverend Jim Settles.
“We have these free dinners for our residents for two very good reasons,” Rev. Settles said. “First, these dinners are a wonderful opportunity for people to get together and share their time and just fellowship with others. Winters can be rough on the elderly and those who can’t get out much, so this is a good excuse to meet in a warm place with old friends.
He continued, “And secondly, we feel that with the extreme cold temperatures, people buy more food to keep warm and it cuts into their food budgets. Providing this great hot meal could potentially help with that problem.”
Rev. Settles said that the dinners are served in the Centenary United Methodist Church, 110 North 2nd Street in Ripley. Many churches in Ripley take part in purchasing, preparing and serving the free meals.
“We have two groups of people who deliver meals to those who can’t get out,” Rev. Settles explained, “We will deliver up to 100 meals each time and will serve between 50 to 70 people at the church in the Fellowship Hall.
“We would like to invite everyone to come out and join us this week on Thursday, Jan. 5 for a great meal and fellowship.”
Free dinners will also be served for the next seven Thursdays including Jan. 12, 19, and 25, and Feb. 2, 8, 16 and 23.
The Centenary UMC can be reached at (937) 392-4975.