In September 1984, Bill Sarrett and four other volunteers began the Soup Kitchen at Church Street United Methodist Church to serve a weekly hot meal to the homeless. At their first meal they served five people.
On Thursday, volunteers at the iconic downtown church celebrated Sarrett and his late wife's memories with the second annual Bill and Fran's Barbecue, during which volunteers served about 400 plates of pork barbecue with all the trimmings.
The Rev. Darryll Rasnake, associate pastor and outreach coordinator at Church Street, said Sarrett, who died in September 2009 after a quarter-century of service, left behind a legacy of giving back to the community that volunteers still follow.
"Bill was one who, when he retired at 65, decided to do this little soup kitchen and did 25 years of volunteer service in his retirement," Rasnake said Thursday. "Many of these volunteers do that same kind of service. The meal is important - it's a good meal - but more importantly, we give compassion and love."
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