Churches from Lakelands Baptist Association teamed together Sunday night, June 27, to present a patriotic musical, “Homeland,” for the Greenwood community.

The 200-plus-member concert choir was composed of choristers from 20 different churches, and the 32-piece orchestra consisted of volunteers from neighboring churches, schools and colleges. The concert was directed by Mark Powers, director of the music and worship office of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.

Held at North Side Baptist Church in Greenwood, the audience completely filled the 1,200-seat sanctuary and a 200-seat overflow room.

John McFadden, traditional worship service leader at North Side, said, “We really regretted having to turn away some folks, but the fire code forced us to do so. We will be looking at the possibility of extra performances for the next event.”

The concert idea sprang from a luncheon meeting of five ministers of music in Greenwood who desired to have a community event that would involve churches of all sizes. Lakelands Association responded quickly with support for the project, and what began as a five-church plan quickly expanded to include many other churches.

“This event is exactly why I believe in associationalism to the core,” said David Little, director of missions for Lakelands Association. “Where else could folks from small membership churches have an opportunity to sing in such an event – with an orchestra? This will go down as one of the great memorable events in Lakelands Baptist life for some time.”