The Packinghouse Praises through Music

The second concert of a six-week Sunday concert series took place Sept. 29 at The Packinghouse in Redlands. The night began with musical electro-pop fusions by Trevor Davis and Dr. Seahorse, a two-man group that has been nominated as best pop group in San Diego. The attendees enjoyed the music while they munched on the goodies sold by the food trucks or as they took up a spot on the grass. As the night progressed and a local church band took the stage, the audience began to sing along. They raised their hands in prayer and chanted, “Your grace is enough for me.” Pastor Greg Opean said there were various purposes for the music series, some of them being “to come out and enjoy the beautiful fall weather together, to worship God, to get into the scriptures of the Bible, and also to open it up to people in the community who maybe have never heard the message of the gospel.” The Packinghouse focuses on praising the Christian Lord, which is why they stepped out of the brick-and-mortar church building and chose to spread the Lord’s words in an outside environment, shared Opean. The decision to name the festival “Freedom-Up” comes from the belief that human freedom comes from the Heavens, he added. Pastor Greg explained, “Jesus came to make us free—free from guilt and shame, free of fear—and [the festival] is called Freedom-Up because that is where our freedom comes from: it comes from God.” The festival will continue for four more Sundays, ending on Oct. 27.