FEEDING SOULS MISSION, CHURCHES, OTHERS JOIN TOGETHER, FEED HUNGRY.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer

VAN NUYS - They came for the friendship. They came for the fellowship. But most of all, they came for the heaping plates of turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie.

More than 1,500 homeless men, women and children sat down with their friends and supporters Monday for a pre-Thanksgiving holiday feast.

``This is fantastic,'' said Gary Spagnola, 58, who lives in an abandoned car in Reseda. ``I didn't know this was happening.

``All of a sudden, a bus rolls up to the 7-Eleven, and someone says, 'Let's Eat.'''

The Great Thanksgiving Banquet, held at the Church On the Way gymnasium in Van Nuys, was presented by the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission and Los Angeles Community Builders.

More than 250 volunteers from area churches dished out 1,000 pounds of gobbler, 400 pounds of mashed potatoes, 300 pounds of veggies and at least 20 gallons of gravy to smother stuffing, ham and yams.

And of course, pumpkin and pecan pie.

``Just seeing all the people get their food for free, and see the smile on their faces as they come out, and to see them get the word of God'' - that's what it's all about, said Bruce Perkins, 50, a volunteer from Sherman Oaks Methodist Church.

Homeless guests, some bused in by missionaries, lined up an hour before the feast - old men with salt-and-pepper beards, young men with dreadlocks, women with shopping carts, entire families with in-laws and children.

``Very nice, this is God's work right here,'' said Robert Thompson, 25, of North Hollywood, walking into the auditorium filled with round tables, place settings and lavish floral centerpieces.

``Be blessed,'' a church greeter tells him. ``God bless, God bless, happy Thanksgiving,'' said another.

``We're really grateful,'' said Beth Thompson, 38, his wife. ``I think it's a wonderful thing, what they're doing.''

The Thompsons had just found shelter at her grandmother's home after sleeping four months in an old Oldsmobile police cruiser. She, with a poor back, is disabled. He, a construction worker, had trouble with the law.

Now they've found their feet and want their three children back.

Tuesday's banquet, with honorary chairman Pat Boone, called attention to 15,000 homeless residents of the San Fernando Valley.

``If we miss two paychecks, this could be us,'' said Kevin Walker Conner, director of outreach services for the mission, which feeds between 300 and 500 lunches and day and houses 150 residents a night at one of seven area churches.

Spagnola, a bearded man with long hair spilling from his cap, said he slid into homelessness via a 35-year heroin habit. He'd played rhythm guitar for a well-known '60s band, got hooked and hit the streets.

Now, he says, he is three years clean.

``Today,'' he laughs, ``I got bit by a black widow, and it's killing me.''

Warren Harris was a 340-pound truck driver, his wife, Donna, a nurse. Then Warren got diabetes - and lost his sight, speech, use of his kidneys and nearly his life.

Donna quit her job to tend to her husband, in bed four months. But the money ran out, and so did the hospitality of their landlord.

Last month, Harris, 43, his wife, 25, and his 86-year-old mother, Nadine, found themselves homeless on a Glendale sidewalk, clutching one another to stay warm.

``Right now, Christmas means a place to stay, going back to work and reuniting our family'' said Harris, who has been living in church shelters while the couple's three children stay with relatives.

``And keeping God in my life - that's No. 1.''

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Steve Owen enjoys a Thanksgiving meal served at The Church on the Way in Van Nuys on Tuesday.

(2) Michael Shepard helps his daughter, Crystal, with her dinner on Tuesday at The Church on the Way. More than 250 volunteers served 1,500 guests a Thanksgiving meal: 1,000 pounds of turkey and 400 pounds of mashed potatoes.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer