Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
WINONA LAKE - Steve Grill has studied Billy Sunday since Grill was a Grace College speech major years ago.
For the fourth time since 1996, he will portray the entertaining preacher in a historical re-enactment. Joining Grill in the every-other-year performance are Kathy Allison as Helen "Ma" Sunday and Brent Wilcoxson as song leader Homer Rodeheaver.
"I love it because it is entertaining," Grill said recently. "It's entertaining because Billy was entertaining."
Sunday was wildly popular, with speaking engagements across the country.
Ma managed each engagement, often supervising the construction of wooden tabernacles with sawdust floors, big enough to seat thousands of people.
Rodeheaver served as master of ceremonies, coordinating the flow and content of each service.
The Billy Sunday Taber-nacle in Winona Lake had seating for 7,500 people.
The Aug. 25 presentation at 4:30 p.m. in Rodeheaver Auditorium will offer a glimpse of Sunday's sermons, interspersed with observations by Ma and songs from the choir led by Rodeheaver.
The debut performance in 1996 was held to raise money for the Billy Sunday Home Museum. This year's "crusade service" is free and open to the public to sit back and enjoy this glimpse of the past. It is sponsored by Grace College and the Village at Winona.
The year is 1915, when Sunday was at the height of his career.
"We want to let people know what it felt like to be in a crusade," Grill said, "highlighting the interesting things he said."
The presentation, written by Grill, revisits some of Sunday's popular themes - touching on his successful baseball career, which he left at the height of his abilities, to serve God - anti-evolution, prayer, prohibition and salvation.
"It's almost like a highlight reel of sermons," Grill said, "with observations by Ma and songs by 'Rody' tying them together."
Sunday was known for his energetic style. Grill said the role, which requires him to give 10-, 12- and 15-minute sermons, is very challenging.
The musical component of each crusade, which often lasted for weeks, was crucial to its success.
Congregational singing featured bright, buoyant gospel songs. Rodeheaver, as musical director, had to sense the mood of each crowd. By the time Sunday preached, the diverse crowd had been unified by Rodeheaver, the irritations of tiring travel and long lines giving way to feelings of celebration and crusade excitement.
Wilcoxson said it is rumored Rodeheaver wouldn't let Sunday on stage until he felt the time was right.
"In Philadelphia, there would be three choirs with close to 1,000 voices," he said.
"The skill he had to have to create a choir the quality he had was really phenomenal. Of course, he ran summer music school for years and people all over the world attended."
The Aug. 25 choir will have about 100 to 110 voices, singing such songs as "Brighten the Corner," "Victory in Jesus" and an old favorite Rodeheaver and Mrs. Virginia Asher made one of the most popular of its era, "The Old Rugged Cross."
