Members of the Fayetteville Church gave up a Saturday morning recently to beautify the N.C. Veterans Park and the grounds of the Airborne and Special Operations Museum for Veteran’s Day.

More than 150 volunteers, armed with shovels, pitchforks, buckets and wheelbarrows, jumped in feet first to make their community better.

“We were chatting about ways to serve our community,“ explained Ted Campagna, event organizer and a minister at the Fayetteville Church.

“With Veteran’s Day coming up, we thought it would be very appropriate for us to help out and show our love and support for all the veterans in the Fayetteville area.”

And that’s when a little divine intervention took over.

“I have a friend who works for the Cumberland County Parks and Recreation and I went to talk to him about helping in some way,” said Campagna, an army veteran. “I had actually gone to the Veterans Park to pray about what type of projects we should do before meeting with him. Once we got together, he said, ‘I have just the project for you,’ and it was at the Veterans Park. So, I think God ordained it and we followed His lead.”

A tractor-trailer load of mulch was in need of being spread throughout the park. The motivated volunteers went to work hauling and spreading the mulch wherever they were directed to place it.

“We were basically beautifying the area,” said Campagna. “We have Veteran’s Day just coming up and they had a tractor-trailer load of mulch they needed spread. They were short on staff, and we said no problem. We got you. It was a pleasure to work together.”

The theme of the day for the volunteers was to serve their community.

“We were out here trying to be like Jesus and serve our fellow man,” said Frank Bailey, a member of the Fayetteville Church. “It felt great coming out on a beautiful morning with other men and women who want to make a difference in the community and try to make it better.”

Bailey, who was out in the park with his wife and three teenage kids, felt it was important to set a great example.

“Bringing your family out shows the next generation it’s something you should do,” explained Bailey. “Jesus was the ultimate servant and he called us not just to follow him but to imitate Him. That means living a life of service and making a difference. We live in an area with so many veterans and people who have sacrificed so much for our country. We need to always honor them.”

“As a veteran myself,” said Campagna. “It always went a long way when people said, ‘Thank you for your service’ and showed their gratitude. That’s one thing we need in our world is gratitude and that’s what we were trying to do. To God be the glory, we were happy to serve."

For more information about the Fayetteville Church, go to www.thefayettevillechurch.org.