Local church members spend weekend serving community

JACKSON, Tenn. — Members of a local church spend the weekend serving those around them.

These volunteers might typically be in church on a Sunday, but Saturday morning First United Methodist Church was filled with members for a different kind of service.

“We are a church that lives out in the community all the time,” Senior pastor Sky McCracken said.

McCracken says this is the third year in a row the church has hosted the great day of service.

He says volunteers help with more than 10 different service projects scattered throughout the city.

“We’re doing some work on some buildings that have been neglected, and some places because folks don’t have enough people power, and we’re trying to fill in the holes,” McCraken said.

Rhonda Murray cut down sheets for Jackson-Madison County General Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

“The neonatal intensive care unit does not have sheets that fit their beds because the company that made them went out of business,” Murray said.

In the church parking lot, more volunteers helped those in the area properly dispose of important documents and checks with a shred-it truck.

“We are providing this type of service to educate the community and to help our most vulnerable citizens not become victims of frauds and scams,” volunteer Andrea Neely said.

For pastor McCraken, he says the event is a reminder of bible verse Matthew 20:28; “To serve, not be served.”

“We love being a downtown church, and hope we can continue to keep making a difference here in Jackson,” he said.

Church leaders say they had more than 100 volunteers working on different projects throughout the day.