SEARCY — Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks and spending time with family. Such will be the case at West Race Baptist Church today, when it opens its doors to the community for the church’s annual free Thanksgiving meal, which will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“It is free and open to anyone who wants to attend,” said Cindy Sullivan, who has been involved with the event for about 10 years, serving as the organizer for the last three or four years. “We want people to know that we love them and this community.
“Some come by themselves; some come with their families. We all come together here as a family,” she said.
“The church should reach out to the community,” said Jackie Manasco, who has been pastor of the church for eight years, “and that is what we are trying to do.
“Some are not as blessed as we are, and we want to share what we have … asking nothing in return. It’s all done in the name of Christ.
“Some people come back year after year. We may not see them at any other time, but that is OK. This is all done in the name of Christ and our love of him and of his people.”
Sullivan said she has been unable to find out exactly how long the church has been providing this service to the community. “It’s been more than 20 years, at least,” she said.
Verlon Stevens said he has been involved for “20-plus years.”
“I’ve been cutting up the turkey ever since we started it,” he said with a laugh.
“Tony Jones and Junior Gentry help, too,” Stevens said. “They take the bones out and then hand it to me.”
Sullivan said the menu will include turkey, dressing, gravy, green beans, corn, bread, homemade desserts and drinks.
Sullivan said the church will prepare 35 turkeys this year — “mostly turkey breasts because they are easier to handle,” she said. “One gentleman — Jim Barnhart — cooks all the meat on his smoker.”
Sullivan said approximately 40 volunteers work on the event, “from setup to cleanup.”
She said one of the project’s longtime volunteers, Roger Elliott, died this past year.
“He was our primary vegetable cooker. He did it for years and years,” she said.
“Roger will be missed,” Manasco said. “He did everything around here. He especially kept people smiling.”
Sullivan said members from other churches and from the community “usually show up and work.
“We had members of a Girl Scout troop come one year, and we’ve had students from Harding University that didn’t go home for Thanksgiving come and help. We welcome anyone’s help.”
The church will deliver meals to shut-ins within the Searcy city limits. Those needing a meal are asked to call the church office at (501) 268-2312.
Sullivan said church members who deliver the meals on Thanksgiving often come back with heart-wrenching stories.
“Dad (Bill Lassiter) and I delivered a meal one year to a little lady that could hardly even come to the door,” said Sullivan, who noted that her daughter, Leslie Cypert, also participates in the event.
“Then once I delivered a meal to a family, and the children told me that they would not have had a Thanksgiving meal had we not brought it to them,” Sullivan said.
“That’s why we do it,” she said, tears in her eyes.
“We’re not interested in how many meals we serve. We are just interested in serving the community,” she said, adding that the church also takes meals to the local fire department, the sheriff’s office and the police department, as well as to nursing homes for their staffs.
Manasco said the church usually serves about 400 meals, including those that are delivered.
Randy Allred and his wife, Teresa, are first-time volunteers with the community Thanksgiving meal.
“I just wanted to get involved,” he said. “My wife and I are changing our tradition.
“We usually go to her mother’s house at noon for a Thanksgiving meal. This year, we’ll come here at noon and go to her mother’s house at night. We are making a new tradition beginning this year.”
For more information on the community Thanksgiving meal at West Race Baptist Church, call the church office at (501) 268-2312 or visit www.westracebaptist.org. West Race Baptist Church is at 1009 W. Race Ave. in Searcy.