Trinity United Methodist Church and Action Ministries-Rome will welcome the community to Ridge Ferry Park on Sunday, Sept. 23 for the annual Jesus in the Park event.

The youth of Trinity United Methodist Church have been busy organizing the celebration of fellowship and are excited to bring the community together in an open environment where those who are looking for assistance can find it.

“It has been an incredible blessing to be able to do this,” said organizer Grant Magness. “We have people who are active members of the church who we first met when they were helped by the assistance provided at Jesus in the Park.”

The free event will last from noon until 7 p.m., and people who come out will be treated to free food, including hot dogs, cotton candy and fried pies. Children’s activities will include face painting as well as balloons and inflatables to play on while live music fills the park.

“We’ve been working for about the last six months to get things together and make sure everything is ready,” Magness said.

The biggest part of the event for the youth group will be the availability of enough food staples to supply 1,500 families with food for several weeks, according to their website.

Students from Shorter University and Berry College volunteered their time over the last two weekends to help fill 3,000 bags of food for the annual event.

“It doesn’t matter how much you make or where you live, it’s just a day to come together and have fun,” Magness said. “We’ll have a lot of good stuff, and if the weather cooperates it should be a great event.”

Donations from the Atlanta Food Bank helped start the tradition three years ago of giving help to needy families. But when provisions ran low, the youth group and church joined together to raise the money needed to keep it going.

The youth group uses a portion of its proceeds from the annual pumpkin patch sales and other fundraisers to help with the cost of purchasing the food to distribute to needy families.

Magness said that they invite all to come out to the event as the focus of Jesus in the Park is the things all religious groups can agree upon.

“There are a wide range of folks from different demographics who come out to this every year, and that’s what’s so great about it,” Magness said. “We truly mean for it to be a focus on the common things we all agree upon — fellowship and the power of God’s grace.”