Ocean Springs church holds drive-through crawfish boil for community

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (WLOX) - First Presbyterian Church of Ocean Springs held its annual Crawfish Boil as a drive-through Sunday.

Volunteers from the church set up the drive-through to welcome members in. People stopped by between noon and 3 p.m. to pick up a free lunch of boiled crawfish, corn, potatoes, and a cold drink. The event is usually held indoors after Easter, but due to COVID-19, it was held outside in the church parking lot.

Senior pastor Scott Castleman extended a special invitation to essential workers as a show of gratitude.

“People on the front lines of things. Police officers, firemen, EMTs, first responders. We talked to people in the emergency rooms at Singing River Health Systems, some ICU people, and just wanted them to come on by to thank them for serving our community in this difficult time," Castleman said.

It gave members a chance to fellowship after five weeks of virtual services.

“It’s a Sunday and I’m so happy to see cars in our parking lot," Castleman said. "Today feels a little like church to me, even if they’re just driving through. I’m getting to speak to people, not just to a camera, which is good.”

First Presbyterian served more than 1,000 pounds of crawfish for lunch Sunday afternoon.