The Jones Memorial United Methodist Church 38th annual Men's Club Barbecue will be Saturday, Saturday, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. in the church fellowship hall. The church is at 4131 Ringgold Road, East Ridge.
The menu, which is eat in or carry out, will include:
Chicken, Beef or Pork Plates - $8.00
X-Large Pork or Beef Sandwiches - $5.00
Bulk Bar-B-Que meat by the pound package - $9.00 per pound
Bake and Craft Sale by the United Methodist women
For more information, call the church office at 624-6073, or go to www.jmumc.org.
Probably the most exciting event that takes place in the Jones Memorial family during September is the JMUMC Men's Club Bar-B-Que. It can also be one of the most spiritually rewarding events. It is sponsored and organized by the Men's Club and enlists the help of the entire congregation. It provides the church the opportunity to get to know everyone as they work side by side. It is an excellent time for Christian fellowship and witness strengthening the church.
The funds raised by the Bar-B-Que go to purchase coats for needy children in East Ridge schools. They also go to help youth camps, youth assemblies and other charitable projects for both the church and the community of East Ridge. The Women's UMW and Youth are involved and benefit from the proceeds to help finance some of their projects as well.
Over the past 23 years 2,300 coats have been purchased for these children in need totaling over $80,500.00. The principals of the East Ridge schools help us by letting the church know how many coats are needed and the sizes. The church delivers them back to the school and the principals distribute them. The church has received many touching notes from needy children over the years thanking us for their coat. The church has had both a teacher and a principal from McBrien School speak at morning worship. The teacher who came had every child in her room to receive a coat. She wanted us to know how much the children appreciated their coats. The church also puts a small new testament in the pocket of each coat.
Greg Millard is the president of the JMUMC Methodist Men's Club. Tom Baugh has been chairman of the Bar-B-Que for 36 years with son, Jeff Baugh joining him as co-chairman 17 years ago. Tom Martin started the Bar-B-Que 38 years ago by getting men in the church together. The Bar-B-Que has been dedicated in his memory since his death. In the beginning the men cooked about 500 pounds of meat and this year they will serve close to 5,000 pounds of meat. The church uses Tom Martin's original Bar-B-Que sauce recipe. The Bar-B-Que sauce will be made during the week before the event and the women of the church meet to make homemade cole slaw, baked beans, tea and more BBQ sauce in the church kitchen. Cooking begins on Friday and into Saturday. Serving begins at 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday.
The youth go out and sell tickets and deliver to local businesses in East Ridge on Saturday morning. Everyone in the church gets involved and we couldn't do it without everyone's help. The children's department gathers orders and prepares them for delivery.
The JMUMC Men's Club meets once a month on the second Saturday of the month. They cook breakfast together around 6:30 a.m. and serve at 8:00 a.m. with a special speaker and meeting.