Church attracts community with BBQ fundraiser
Photo by Timothy Ramsey
When a church goes beyond the walls to include the community in activities is always a good thing. For Burkhead United Methodist Church, 5250 Silas Creek Parkway, involving the community is what they do. On Saturday, Nov. 4 they held their annual Port-A-Pit Chicken barbecue fundraiser.
Along with having the barbecue chicken the church also brought in arts and crafts vendors as well as baked goods for the visitors to purchase. The local fire department also came out to let the children play on their fire truck and to speak about fire safety around the home.
Some of the vendors included Kay Brookshire, who makes holiday décor; It’s Beauty Shades of Color run by Beverly Knight and Tashina Willborn, who sold all natural shea butter products; Beautiful Bling jewelry, who makes hypoallergenic pieces; and Bad Kat Beadworks, who makes earrings and necklaces.
Rebecca Ashby, owner of Bad Kat Beadworks, has been coming to the event for the past three years. She says it’s a lot of fun and the people are nice. She said she enjoys supporting the church and the good work they do for the community.
Barbecue organizers Beth Dixon and Becky Arnott have been coordinating this event for the past three years. They say the event came about because they visited a church that had a Port-A-Pit chicken cookout and found it delicious. They then decided to bring the event to Burkhead on the first Saturday of November annually.
“It has become a tradition and something we can wrap our arms around to come together as a group,” said Dixon. “I like the fellowship, camaraderie and the support of one another as we are preparing and getting ready for the day.”
The point of the event is to raise funds for church missions. Last year, they used some of the funds raised to purchase backpacks for local schools, donated money to local libraries, baking ministries and various outreach projects the church is involved with.
Over the years they have had great feedback from the church members and the community about the barbecue. They say the Port-A-Pit chicken really brings the people out to support their event. On average they usually have about 600-700 people come to the barbecue throughout the day.
For Dixon and Arnott they say this is more like fun than work for them. They enjoy putting this event together and seeing the smiles on peoples faces.
Rev. Dr. Carl Manuel Jr., pastor of Burkhead United, says this is his first annual barbecue, because he is a new pastor at the church, and loves the fact he is able to fellowship with the surrounding community along with church members outside of the pulpit.
“This is my first one, but it is so moving to see everyone coming together for this event,” he said. “I like to see the community coming together because I plan to be a part of the community, especially with our young people.
“Events like this is really one of the missions of the United Methodist Church which is to serve people in the community,” he continued.
