Veterans Cookout

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – The freedom we often take for granted has been provided by soldiers who have experienced less than desirable circumstances. 

Zanesville First Church of the Nazarene Associate Pastor Jim Lanning shared how his congregation will be holding a Memorial Day themed Cookout for military veterans and their families.

“We have many veterans in our church. And I’ve done work with veterans and we find that… we understand the kind of like the… that veterans have mental healthcare, healthcare and help with food or whatever but we don’t find anybody kind of focusing on their spiritual care,” Lanning said.

The cookout will feature a memorial service and live music followed by a barbecue. The meal will be furnished and attendees need only to bring their appetites along with a patriotic spirit.  

“We just thought we’d put it together and we don’t exactly know what direction it’s going to go,” Lanning said. “We just want to make sure that they can have a place that they can go for actual spiritual help. To us being in our faith, we think the spiritual part of it needs to be worked with and helped as much as possible. And that’s the direction we want to go with it.”

All veterans and their families are invited to attend the free event that will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. this Sunday, at the Westview Park, located on Dresden Road in Zanesville.