Annual even tin 20th year

By PAT NEWMAN
pnewman@thecitizennews.com

The powerful strains of pure Southern gospel music will be rattling the rafters of Line Creek Baptist Church Friday, when the congregation gathers for its annual all-night sing.

For more than 24 years, members have come together in September to celebrate this musical tradition. As far as yearly events go in the church, "This is a biggie," said church member Linda Chitwood. Associate pastor the Rev. Bobby Carpenter recalled that the sings began in 1976. "We were having Sunday singings and the youth and young couples weren't attending, so we changed it to an all night sing," he said.

Singing starts at 7:30 p.m. with the church choir, followed by 'N Harmony, a Southern gospel quartet from Nashville, Tenn. At 9 o'clock, there's a break for a covered dish spread. Once the casseroles are emptied and the biscuits have disappeared, the singing resumes. The last chorus will be sung at midnight.
About 200 people are expected to participate in this year's concert, which draws gospel music enthusiasts from as far as North Atlanta. Chitwood noted that a "love offering" will be accepted from those attending. "This is for everyone. We draw different people from other areas and other churches. Everybody's welcome," Carpenter added.

Line Creek Baptist was established in 1865. The original church faced Ga. Highway 74. When the congregation outgrew the small sanctuary, the structure was torn down in 1980 and replaced with the existing brick church. The Reverend Franklin Treadwell has served as pastor since 1971.

'N Harmony is a young quartet that sings the old traditional songs, as well as original compositions. The four men, all under 30, have been together for about seven years. They consider their youth a positive thing in two respects. One reason is the chance to perform and minister through song for years to come. The second is their appeal to a new generation just picking up on gospel music.

Titles including "I'm Glad I Know the Lord," and "There's Peace in Knowing," have climbed the charts. Their latest recording, called "Tribute," includes the voice of one of their founding members before his death.

In addition to singing at churches like Line Creek Baptist, the quartet has traveled to Northern Ireland and South Africa to minister.

In the current issue of Singing News, N' Harmony's Shane Dunlap said, "All of the guys are in agreement about what we want to do. We feel our job is to encourage and minister to people. We have fun at what we do, but we want to make our ministry an experience. We know how we feel in our heart, and we want what we are feeling to flow directly to those people who are in our concerts."

Line Creek Baptist Church is on Ga. Highway 54 just across the railroad bridge.

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