St. Michael and All Angels Organ Repair Campaign
Dear Friends in Christ,
For a great many of us, the organ has always been an integral part of holy worship service at St. Michael’s, whether as accompanying the singing of hymns or our wonderful choir, or as played in solo interludes. In the past, our organ also attracted independent organ concerts or played a role in other musical events. In fact, our church has been blessed with an outstanding instrument, initially installed in 1974, soon after the construction of the church.
After over a half-century of use, the organ is now on its last legs. As originally built, it was a hybrid, with sound produced both electronically and through an array of thousands of pipes. At present the electronic function has almost entirely ceased to work and the pipes are badly in need of revoicing. Some of you may have heard Ray Urwin describe the great difficulty he had in playing it, with the great majority of the stops having entirely given up the ghost.
Having obtained bids from the most reputable organ refurbishing firms, we have learned that the requisite repairs will cost us about 130,000 dollars. For this reason, the Thursday Morning Men’s Group, with the support of Father Shane and the Vestry, is spearheading a campaign to seek donations.
Thanks to a few generous donors, we have 60,000 90,000 dollars in donations and pledges received to date!
We would urge all parishioners to consider their tax-deductible pledges, small or large, to the Organ Repair Fund. Checks in the name of “Saint Michaels and All Angels” can be sent to Maile Jansen in the church office specifying “Organ Fund.” Or you can give online through the St. Michael’s website at https://www.stmikescdm.org/give/ -- select 2023 Organ Refurbishment in the dropdown menu.
With our grateful thanks,
Bob Anderson, Frank Bean, Norm Bianchi, Kim Montgomery, Paul Multari, Michael Strong, and Tim Tackett
Tags: Music
Director of Music
