The Ninth Annual Fall Gospel Sings Concert will be held Friday and Saturday at Barton Community College’s Fine Arts Auditorium.
Live music featuring gospel music will be presented at no charge starting at 7 p.m. Friday and from 1-9 p.m. on Saturday. Freewill offerings will be received. Concessions will be available from the BCC Cheerleaders in the auditorium hallway, or from 5-5:30 p.m. in the Student Union. There will also be door prizes.
Featured performers will appear at area churches this Sunday:
• Haskell and JoLee Cooley will present a program called “A Time for Refreshing” when they visit First Congregational United Church of Christ, 3400 21st St., Great Bend, at 10:30 a.m. and at the Church of God, Baker and Lakin, Great Bend at their 6 p.m. worship service.
They present gospel music vocally and instrumentally. This family’s style of music is easy-listening and is designed to be enjoyed by young and old. Several albums on which Haskell is pianist have been nominated for Grammy Awards by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Most of the songs they sing are written by themselves. Some of their well known songs are “I’ll Sail Away Home,” “Gonna Shout All Over Heaven,” “Singing Easy” and “Gitty Up Mule.”  The Cooleys’ full-time music ministry takes them throughout the United States.
• Mike and Carolyn Toney will be at King United Methodist Church, 1608 Odell St., Great Bend, at 11 a.m.
The Toneys, from rural northwest Missouri, have been singing gospel music together for over 20 years. Mike was delivered from alcohol on March 2, 1980, and shortly afterwards the Lord began to lead the couple on a path of music ministry.
• Ed Huffman and his Sanctified Sax will be at the Christian Church, 519 Centre St. in at Pawnee Rock, for their morning worship at 10:30 a.m.
• Allen and Connie Parker from Fairbury, Neb., better known to southern gospel music fans as Lamb Watchers Ministries, will be at Calvary Baptist Church 307 West A St. in Ellinwood, for morning worship at 11 a.m. Mixing humor with musical talent, the Parkers have been singing together for about 15 years.
• Praises to Him will be at Trinity United Methodist Church, 221 N. Maple in Russell, for morning worship at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m