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VALDOSTA, Ga. (WALB) - First Antioch Baptist Church will host a Community Thanksgiving Dinner on Saturday, Nov. 22, church leaders announced.

The dinner will be at 517 North Oak Street in Valdosta from noon to 3 p.m.

Church leaders said this is an opportunity for the church to give back to the community on a special holiday, in addition to its pantry for those impacted by hunger daily. This is especially critical with the ongoing government shutdown impacting South Georgia families’ budgets.

First Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, established in the late 1860s, was hit by vandalism three times in Sept. 2025.

|READ MORE: Historic Valdosta church vandalized 3 times in 3 weeks|

Church leaders say there have been no updates.

“To see something like this is very discouraging, but it doesn’t give us the will to not want to [come to church],” Deacon Harry Jenkins said. “Matter fact, it makes us what to do even more.”

Valdosta Police said they are continuing to investigate these incidents.

For more information regarding the Community Thanksgiving Dinner, contact Angela Haddin at (229) 269-9346 or Joyce Jeff at (229) 548-3119.

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