It's not your typical Saturday as a group of high school students gather to tackle some weeds.

And 15 year old Shane Brewer is not your typical 15year old as the brainchild behind a beautification project at St. Joseph's Catholic Church of Meridian.

He's a member of the church and a local boy scout leader and he's working alongside his fellow troop seven scouts of a purpose. Brewer says the church's meditation/prayer area needed to be revived because weeds had overtaken the flowerbeds, so he took it upon himself to do something about it and encourage his boy scouts as well to help in the effort.

"What better to do than to help out the church because this place looked pretty bad before," said Troop 7 Eagle Scout Leader Shane Brewer, who came up with the service project idea.

But he says it was more than trying to clear out some weeds and trying to gain eagle status.

It was about making this area come alive again and be the symbol it once was , not only for the church, but for the community.

"There's a lot of history in these bricks and plagues around this meditation area at the church," said Brewer.

And Brewer says that history is not all spiritual...because once where this statue now sits was a school for African Americans in the 1900's. Now a piece of that history and a piece of the civil rights movement is still present today.

"James Chaney was a member of this church and an altar boy here. And he's one of the people that sacrificed his life so that I can do what I want to do today. That's important," said Brewer.

And the priest of this church says he's proud of Brewer and the boys and says they are preparing him for his weekend sermon.

"My sermon this weekend is about paying it forward and that's what these guys are doing, paying forward what other people have done," said Father Frank Cosgrove of St. Joseph's Catholic Church.

"Even if it's a small thing it will help somebody out, somebody will get something from it," said Brewer.