The women in the kitchen at Sharon Baptist Church scurried around the room Saturday morning, arranging desserts on plates and making sure a carryout order was just right.

Outside the kitchen, tables had been set up with spoons and napkins and baskets of saltines. And in the door walked the honored guests, a woman and a boy, the first recipients of the church’s new Real Meal program. Every third Saturday from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. the church will open its doors to provide a hot meal to those in need in the community; they do not have to be member of the church.

“We’re here to serve,” church volunteer Terri Rader explained. “God has blessed me in my life and now I want to give back.” She recited Matthew 25:35, “For I was hungry and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty and ye gave me drink…’”

Kathy Markins, who helped organize the new ministry, said the free meal for those who need it most is her idea of living The Golden Rule by doing unto others as you would want them to do to you.

“A lot of people are hurting out there,” Markins said. “I’d like to think if this was me this opportunity would be here for me as well. We need to go where God tells us and keep going with it. Whether it’s 50 or 100, we need to reach out to the people God wants us to reach.”