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Like azaleas in the spring and spider lilies in the fall, the anticipation builds when the Claws for a Cause banners appear on the front of Trinity Church.

“It’s about that time,” the woman on the sidewalk said as she spotted the unrolled banners this weekend.

For nearly a decade, the red signs on the Doric columns of Trinity church have reminded locals of lobster, live music, and good times with friends in the streets of downtown Natchez.

If you had asked someone walking past the church in 2015 where lobster could be found in Natchez, you would likely have received a quizzical look or quick shrug.

Almost ten years later, locals now eagerly anticipate Trinity’s annual lobster block party.

On Sunday, May 19, from 5 to 8 p.m., we will once again block off South Commerce Street between Washington and Orleans streets for Claws for a Cause.

Tickets for a lobster dinner with sides are $60. BBQ chicken plates will also be available for $20, and hamburger plates will be $15.

As always, there will be live music performed by Bubba McCabe and Drew David this year, and other activities for kids, including an inflatable jump.

As we did when we started this tradition in 2105, all of the proceeds will go to serving those in need outside the walls of Trinity Church.

“We are literally taking to the streets to support outreach ministry,” Father Walton Jones said on that first Claws for a Cause nine years ago.

Since then, proceeds from the annual event have gone to local charities like Pleasant Acre Day School, the Natchez Stewpot, Santas for Seniors and other worthy charities outside of Natchez like the Damascus Endowment at Camp Bratton Green and Teach Us to Fish Micro-industries in Honduras.

This year is no different. Proceeds from the 2024 Claws for a Cause will be split evenly between the Natchez Adams Council on Mental Health and World Central Kitchen.

The Natchez Adams Council on Mental Health is a local non-profit whose mission is to connect local resources with community mental health needs. In recent months, local law enforcement and community leaders have discussed the urgent need to reduce the number of people experiencing a mental health crisis who are being detained in the local jail. Through NACOMH, proceeds from this year’s Claws for a Cause will be directed to promote and support the continued development of Crisis Intervention Teams programs, increase awareness of the mental health resources that are available to those in crisis, and the future development of local crisis intervention living room to provide an alternative to hospitalization to those experiencing a mental health crisis.

Guided by the belief that food is a universal human right, World Central Kitchen provides food relief in response to global humanitarian, climate and community crises. The organization was founded in 2010 by chef and restaurateur Jose Andres following the earthquake disaster in Haiti. Since then, World Central Kitchen has responded to Hurricane Harvey in 2017, the 2018 volcanic eruption in Hawaii, the 2023 earthquakes in Turkey and Syria and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Since its inception, World Central Kitchen has served more than 350 million meals worldwide, providing nourishment, comfort, and hope, especially in times of crisis.

Once again, we’re eager to share this wonderful event with all of you and to come together to support these important ministries.

If you cannot stay for the event, feel free to buy tickets, pick up your food, and take it home with you.

If you have any questions about the event, please call Tracy at our church office at 601-445-8432.

Click here for tickets. Lobster tickets must be purchased by May 11. 

You can also get tickets by calling the church office or from a Trinity Church member. Please plan to join us.

Ben Hillyer is a member of Trinity Episcopal Church and a co-chairman for the 2024 Claws for a Cause.