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| Praise Fills Old Stone Church |
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| News - Osawatomie | |||
| Written by Travis Perry | |||
| Wednesday, 03 March 2010 09:00 | |||
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With steady assurance and a cool demeanor, Bruce Ozias made his way to the front of the room.
Readying himself and addressing the crowd, he clasped his hands, looked to the heavens and did what he came to do: sing.  Ozias was joined in his chorusing of songs of glory and praise by a host of singers and musicians, all with the goal of making the walls of Old Stone Church come alive again with the sound of worship at the third-annual Gospel Concert. About 60 people filled the pews Saturday — a turnout with which Grady Atwater, event coordinator and John Brown State Historic Site administrator, was pleased. “It has grown exponentially every year,” he said. The reason for the event is twofold, he added. First, it gets residents into the historic structure so they can see the renovation work that has been done. “This is a church that has been rebuilt through the donations of the community, through the hard work of the community,” Atwater said, pointing out repainted floors, sealed cracks in the walls and other efforts to restore the sanctuary as authentically as possible. “We are really making good progress.” As compliments rained down regarding the restoration of the historic building, Atwater happily announced that once warmer weather arrives, the cupola and steeple will be remounted on the roof. “The bell will ring again,” he added with a smile. The second reason for the evening, Atwater said, was to help fund the educational gardens surrounding the John Brown Museum. The event raised $173, which will go toward the estimated $2,000 total cost of reinvigorating the garden for spring and summer; the majority of that cost is in the plants, Atwater said. “There is no city funding for this project,” he said, but the gardens serve as yet another addition to the museum to detail what life would have been like for early Osawatomie settlers. “We show (visitors) you did not go to the grocery store; you went to the garden.” Ultimately, while the Gospel Concert is one of the smaller events Atwater organizes, he has seen satisfactory growth and interest in recent years to keep the tradition going — and to keep residents filling Old Stone Church. “Every time we work to preserve it, every time we work with our community, we preserve the memory of those who built the church,” he said. “Preservation is an endless process.”
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