Local church repairs nearby house for free
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JACKSON, Tenn. — “We just knocked on his door and said, ‘hey, can we help?'” pastor at Highland Park Church Paul Riddle said. Highland Park Church was hard at work Monday morning, doing everything from clearing brush from a backyard to building a new porch covering. “He came to me and asked me do I need some help with my home,” the owner of the house, John Austin, told WBBJ Monday. Austin said he’s thankful for the helping hand. “I feel much grateful for the community that’s getting together to try and help me,” Austin said. “We do mission projects all over the country with World Changers and other organizations, and we got to looking at our own neighborhood and thought, you know, we need to love our own neighborhood,” Riddle said when asked about how the idea came to be. The construction will focus on fixing big problems like the roof of the house where there’s holes that are letting in rain. Austin told WBBJ he’s grateful for the help and wishes there were more people like this in the Hub City. “More people to just come together, talk about these problems and try to help one another.” Austin said. “Somebody like Paul. That’s what they need. Somebody like Paul.” Those working call it a labor of love. “We’re just trying to show love,” Riddle said. “We love our neighbors. We want to show Mr. John we care about him. He’s not part of our church, but he’s part of our community.” Highland Park raised $4,500 to help pay for the repairs. The church will be working all week to finish their project. They’re also having a number of events that are free to the community. The following schedule was provided by the church: Tuesday: Snow cones and water games for kids in the back parking lot of the church, starting at 9 a.m. Wednesday: Live music in the back parking lot of the church. The night of worship starts at 6:30 p.m. Feel free to bring your lawn chair. Thursday: Free hot dog dinner and movie night in the church gym. Come eat starting at 6 p.m. Showtime is 6:30 p.m. Friday: Matinee Movie Marathon: More movies for kids and kids at heart in the church gym starting at 9 a.m. Saturday: Everyone loves a parade! If you would like to be in the parade along with a City of Jackson fire truck and police car, line up in the church parking lot at 11:45 a.m. The parade is scheduled to begin at noon and will go down Mitchell to Webber to Bryan Street then back to the church on Ingram. Prizes will be given for the best motorized and non-motorized entry. Kids on bikes are welcome in the parade, too. Stick around after the parade to see the fire truck up close. We’ll also have snow cones!
