St. Joseph's Christian Methodist Episcopal Church of 510 W. Rosemary St. in Chapel Hill called the community to "come out and help share the word of God outside of the church walls" Saturday by sponsoring its third-annual Fun Day.
Brother Howard "Buddy" Baldwin and Reverend Troy Harrison, St. Joseph's pastor, officiated over a packed lawn of locals who gathered to appreciate free food, fellowship and music at H.W. Baldwin Park on Broad Street in Carrboro.
"We enjoy this thing," Baldwin said, "and people come up to us afterwards and want to know when in the world we're gonna do this again."
The event has special meaning for Baldwin because the park is named after his late uncle, Henry Walker Baldwin.
The celebration has come to be called "FRANgelism In The Park", which stands for Friends, Relatives and Neighbors gather to evangelize.
"We are a church without walls," Harrison said, "We want to bring the church to the community."
Patrons spread out across the area of the park as they ate hot dogs and hamburgers, visited with friends and family and enjoyed gospel music played by 16 groups from around the state.
"I came out because this is a spiritual celebration," said Eloise Williams, who came to enjoy the fellowship with her husband Alvin.
"It's a community thing," she said, "and we get people from all walks of life to be a part of it."
