A first Thanksgiving for newly arrived refugee families in the U.S.

While Thanksgiving is a lifelong tradition for most of us, this year marks the first for families who have newly arrived in the U.S.

The most American of holidays has a decidedly international flavor at one Dallas church.

Dennis Page is the chief operating officer of Gateway of Grace, a non-profit ministry. On Thursday, he asked a room full of families how many of them were celebrating Thanksgiving for the first time.

He admits seeing hands go up for families from places like Iran, China, Colombia and Pakistan is why dozens of volunteers work each year to make this Thanksgiving meal possible.

“The most American thing you can do is welcome a person from another country who has seen the worst of humanity,” Page said.

It’s a reality Page says many families here have seen at some point.

Gateway of Grace provides English as a Second Language and citizenship courses, along with support for housing for newly arrived refugee families.

Thanksgiving at Saint Matthew’s Cathedral in east Dallas is about creating a holiday tradition.

One Iliya Rahimi has already adopted.

“For me, Thanksgiving means more when we extend that gratitude to others,” Rahimi said.

Rahimi and his family fled his native Iran when he was just seven, escaping religious persecution.

In Turkey, they found safety, but few opportunities. So, in 2022, his family arrived in North Texas.

Now 17, Rahimi says he’s enjoying his third Thanksgiving in the U.S. with his parents, siblings and grandmother.

And this meal at Saint Matthew’s is part of his new American tradition.

“The first time people come to the Thanksgiving, how they feel, I can understand them because I have been through all those things that they have,” Rahimi said.