In April 2004, Linda Ozanne got a call from a fellow Texan and church member. Would she and her husband, Buddy, consider chairing a committee to organize a 75th anniversary celebration for their church? the caller asked. Linda and Buddy quickly agreed to help.
As active alumni of Southern Methodist University, in Dallas, and longtime community volunteers, the couple seemed a natural choice to co-chair the anniversary committee at Third Church of Christ, Scientist, Dallas. A few weeks earlier, the Meadows Museum, located on the SMU campus, had contacted the church board to ask if Third Church, designed by Dallas architect Mark Lemmon, could be included in an upcoming retrospective exhibition of the architect's work at the museum. Church members agreed it would be a perfect way to begin the celebration of their church's 75th anniversary on Thanksgiving Day 2005.
Although the museum event that year (which also included an open house at Third Church) was a big success, the members didn't want their Italian Romanesque-style building to be the sole focus of what was to become a yearlong anniversary celebration. More than anything, they saw the anniversary as an opportunity to fulfill the church's mission to be a healing presence in the community.
