Detroit — Thousands of Catholics from nearly 100 parishes across Metro Detroit picked up their shovels, working boots and crochet needles Oct. 1 and spread out on a mission.

That mission? Mercy. Lots and lots of mercy.

The volunteers were participating in Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan’s inaugural Mercy in Action Day of Service, begun during the Year of Mercy with the hopes of engaging the community in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

“As followers of Jesus Christ, Catholics and all Christians are called to give visible witness by living the works of mercy in our daily lives, because God first showed His mercy to us through His Son,” Jason Shanks, CEO of Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan, said in a statement. “With this mission in mind, the CCSEM Christian service department developed the idea of a Mercy in Action Day of Service in which Catholics and parishes throughout the archdiocese could plan activities to help the needy.”

More than 4,000 people volunteered with more than 200 service projects across Metro Detroit for the day, said Kelly Luttinen, communications coordinator for Catholic Charities.

“It was definitely a diocesan-wide effort,” Luttinen said. “I talked to two parish groups and they were both trying to come up with activities that would encompass the whole circle of life, from the unborn to the elderly. They visited nursing homes, cleaned up parks and cemeteries. In Sterling Heights, they took young people from the Polish dancing group and went to the Oakmont nursing home, where the young children were giving gifts to the elderly.”

Other projects included volunteers helping the homeless by making fleece blankets and sandwiches, taking cookies to police and fire departments and hosting blood drives, said Luttinen, adding Catholic Charities hopes to make it an annual event modeled after the national Make a Difference Day, held each year in October.

At Sacred Heart Parish in Dearborn, nearly 80 volunteers of all ages pitched in on a variety of projects, from stocking food at the Capuchin Services Center in Detroit to making handmade holiday cards for the sick and homebound.

“The people were just so joyful,” said Susan Campbell, pastoral associate at Sacred Heart. “They said it didn’t even feel like work because everyone was pulling together.”

Sacred Heart volunteers also worked to assemble more than 100 “blessing bags” filled with non-perishable food items to give to people in need who stop by the parish, Campbell said.

At St. Charles Lwanga Parish in Detroit, volunteers held a prayer rally, carrying signs up Grand River Avenue asking drivers to “honk for peace.” The march started at the parish’s St. Leo Church site and ended at its second location, St. Cecilia Church.

“We have cards that we hand out and we’re praying with people and talking with people, letting them know that we’re here in the neighborhood for them,” said Angela Thomas-Weldon, pastoral associate at St. Charles Lwanga. “We have a soup kitchen where we do community dinners and outreach, but then too there’s the spiritual food, and today we’re serving in a spiritual way.”

Despite the threat of rain all morning, marchers took joyfully to the 3.3-mile route, Thomas-Weldon said, stopping along the way to pray and eat.

“Rain never stopped Jesus, so it shouldn’t stop us, either,” Thomas-Weldon said. “We’re not separate, and this shows how we’re one. It shows our unity in belief, in faith, and it’s great to be part of this.”