NEW PALTZ, N.Y. — A church in New Paltz doesn't seem like the site of a traditional family thanksgiving, but inside this house all the right elements are there. 

"We come for the company, we come for the food, we come to be part of something beyond ourselves," says Bette Johnson Sohm, pastor at New Paltz United Methodist Church. 

They've been welcoming anyone for a free thanksgiving supper for decades. Each year dozens of people walk through the door. But, the annual United Methodist Church New Paltz Thanksgiving dinner isn't necessarily about charity. 

It is not about serving the poor, explains Margaret Howe, a long-time parishoner at the church. "It's about being in fellowship together with one another as human beings and to support and love and care for one another. And meeting new friends, and creating a place for everyone to be welcomed and to be loved."

Volunteers spent two days prepping and cooking a full Thanksgiving feast.