Volunteers Jim Remnant, left, Brandon Blackford, and Merrick Havens serve up Thanksgiving dinner at the First Presbyterian Church in Boulder. ( PAUL AIKEN )

While waiting patiently Thursday for one of 120 volunteers at Boulder's First Presbyterian Church to serve him a plate full of traditional Thanksgiving food, Tom Owens, 30, was surprised by a young boy tapping on his shoulder.

"Here ya go," the child said, lifting up a sack -- like those given out at this year's Bolder Boulder race -- full of snacks and toiletries, including shampoo and washcloths.

"Oh thanks," a surprised Owens said about the same time a woman set a plate of turkey, stuffing and potatoes in front of him.

"This is real important," Owens told a Camera reporter before starting to eat. "Even though we're homeless, we're human beings. Not all of us are drunks. Some of us are going to school -- like me."

Regardless of what brought the more than 300 people to Thanksgiving diner at First Presbyterian on Thursday, volunteer Brenna Benner said they all were viewed as honored guests.

"It's about love," Benner said. "And it's a great way to circulate abundance."

The Boulder church -- which was among several Boulder County churches and nonprofit organizations that offered a free Thanksgiving meal on Thursday -- prepared 30 turkeys, 120 pounds of sweet potatoes, 500 dinner rolls and about 50 pies for the feast. Crowds of hungry men and women started lining up hours before the church doors opened, and smells of traditional Thanksgiving fare made waiting difficult.

The stuffing and sweet potatoes are Michael Fitzgerald's favorite. He's been eating Thanksgiving dinner at the church for three years now after losing his home in 2007.

"We wouldn't have a place to go," said Fitzgerald, 58. "Most of us don't have families."

Kym Dray, 44, said she does.

"All these people are my family," Dray said, pointing to the line outside the church Thursday. "And this, to me, is a blessing."

Dray said she used to work for a major corporation but lost her job, and then her family.

"I'm gay, and I came out," she said, adding that her recent life experience has taught her what is important and what is not. "You can have all the material wealth in the world, and it means nothing."

What means a lot, she said, are personal relationships and the generosity of strangers. When asked what it means to have a place to go on Thanksgiving, Dray became speechless.

"I have a harder time putting that into words than what I was talking about before," she said. "If churches weren't here and available to help, a lot of these people wouldn't be able to make it."

Tracy Schulz, 40, said she would have made it through the holiday just fine, but having people to share a meal with made it easier. Thursday was the first Thanksgiving Schulz hasn't been with family. Both of her parents were killed in a car accident this year.

"A lot of us don't know what to do today," she said. "So this is a blessing."