This past Saturday, the Canadian Church of Christ and the First Christian Church combined efforts to serve the city of Canadian.

“This is our 5th Annual Go! Weekend.” said preaching minister Jake Perkins at the Church of Christ. “It is our biggest in scope and in number of volunteers, so far.”

With a workforce of over 230 volunteers, members from both churches went out to accomplish 21 predetermined projects, including mowing yards, meal prep and delivery, painting, demolition, upkeep, and remodeling.

Wearing purple shirts with the message “Jesus Loves Canadian” printed on the front, people of all ages were sent out early on Saturday to bless others. Groups of 10, 12, 15, and even 30 were seen all over the community putting their efforts into making Canadian a better place to live.

“The shirts really describe it all” said Perkins. “We want everyone to know that love really does win. Love makes the world better, and that means Canadian is better when we love this town well.”

One of the highlights this year was the work done at the Cat’s Paw. In just a few hours, the group was able to install a new floor and corrugated metal wainscoting in the legendary building on 6th Street. A fresh coat of paint was put on new trim, and baseboards and the seating tables were custom painted by Mandy Flowers.

Cat’s Paw owner Dayla Cates struggled to find words this week when asked her impression of the makeover. As impressive as the transformation itself was, she was more overwhelmed by the act of kindness it represented. “It was a blessing,” Cates said. “It was hard to take, and hard to accept. I just don’t....Thank you is not enough to say for what they did.”

The crew went right to work, she said. “They all just jumped in and gave it their all. It was hot. It was miserable They never complained.”

“It took a lot of talent and care to do that,” Cates said. “They say it’s better to give than receive. I want to say I know that. But receiving was awesome, too.”

Other projects included painting the outside of one house, cleaning up the CARE corridor on 2nd Street, rewiring a trailer house, and more. The groups were especially pleased to install several new window air-conditioning units during the hot summer months.

The site planning began way back in April, but the partnership of the two churches began last year. According to Perkins, the First Christian Church minister Matt Cook approached him at a Friday night football game last fall. The two discussed a partnership with the annual Go! Weekend and agreed the two churches could accomplish more together.

On Sunday, members of the First Christian Church joined the worship service at the Church of Christ, where Matt Cook and Jake Perkins shared in the message together. Following the service, both groups ate together at the First Christian fellowship building.

“It’s pretty cool to see so many people come together, work hard, and get so much done,” said Cook. “Everyone was smiling through the sweat because it wasn’t about them, but about loving and serving others in our community.”

“Love does some crazy things,” he added, “like running a shovel, paintbrush, or lawnmower on a super hot Saturday in July for people you may have never met. That kind of love doesn’t get shown because people are awesome or super-kind, but because they’ve experienced an even more amazing, life-changing love in the grace and mercy of Jesus.”

“Go Weekend is our biggest event of the year,” said Perkins. “It is the heart of who we want to be in the community and represents what we believe churches should be doing.”

“Times are tough here,” he admitted. “We get that. But we are not going to sit around and wring our hands. We are going to get out and make things better. Better for everyone if we can. God is still good.”

PHOTOS BY CHERI SMITH | THE RECORD