NATCHEZ &045; This fund-raiser was supposed to be run by the kids, but a quick look around might have given one a different idea.

&uot;The kids are the ones supposed to be doing this,&uot; Brenda Letcher, one of the adults, joked as she helped put away food dishes.

More than a dozen members of Beulah Baptist Church were out Saturday afternoon conducting a fish fry fund-raiser, complete with all the sides and desserts a person could want, on the grassy area just east of the church near the corner of Martin Luther King and B Street.

The church, established in 1896, has undergone an extensive renovation and remodeling over the past year, and some of the church members were out trying to raise money to help to pay for it.

Bettie L. Minor, the church secretary, has been a member of the church since the early ’70s, she said.

&uot;This is one of the oldest historic churches in the area,&uot; Minor said. &uot;We’re doing a few fund raisers to help with the renovations. We did one last Saturday and one today. There’s just lots of little projects we’re working on.&uot;

Maurice Duncan and Robert Morgan provided the cooking assistance, though one got the feeling these men would have been cooking at home if they hadn’t had the opportunity to be out at the fund-raiser. &uot;Anytime we can cook at all, it’s good,&uot; Morgan said.

The fish fry was just closing down at 4 p.m. as a few drops of rain began to fall in a brief shower. &uot;Guess we finished up at the right time,&uot; Duncan said.