{"id":10464,"date":"2007-11-08T10:56:21","date_gmt":"2007-11-08T15:56:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=10464"},"modified":"2011-08-09T10:57:26","modified_gmt":"2011-08-09T15:57:26","slug":"5939","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/11\/08\/5939\/","title":{"rendered":"Hang Onto the Past, Or Minister to the Present?"},"content":{"rendered":"

BOSTON, MA (November 8, 2007) \u2013 The members of Covenant Congregational Church had a difficult decision to make \u2013 restore its large pipe organ, which has been used since the church was built during the Depression, or hire a youth pastor. <\/p>\n

To some people, the question might have seemed to be choosing between hanging on to the past and ministering to the present.<\/p>\n

Doing both would be too expensive. \u201cIt was beyond our reach,\u201d says pastor Fred Elliott-Hart. Still, the congregation with an average attendance of 100 people did decide to do the impossible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a strong sense in the Council that this is where the Spirit was leading us,\u201d says Elliott-Hart. \u201cWe didn\u2019t want to lag behind the Spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

So the congregation voted to hire Cristina Tinglof, a graduate of North Park Theological Seminary, who had grown up in the church. They are also spending roughly $35,000 to repair the instrument.<\/p>\n

The organ will be rededicated at 5 p.m. Sunday during a special service that will be followed with a concert by Ingrid Gutberg. The concert will be the first of a series performed by different artists.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could worship without it, but it\u2019s also about stewardship of what was left to us,\u201d says Elliott-Hart.<\/p>\n

The church\u2019s organist, Keith Kirchoff, a classically trained musician who has performed around the world, says he is looking forward to playing the instrument that had given him fits. \u201cIt was always an adventure playing it in its old shape,\u201d says Kirchoff. \u201cMany times the keys just didn\u2019t sound at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then there were the mornings when he had the opposite problem – a contact would break and the note would keep sounding. \u201cThere were several times I would have to stop in the middle of a hymn and turn the organ off,\u201d Kirchoff says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe congregation is going to be in for a surprise when Keith gets back on the organ,\u201d says John White, who did the renovation.<\/p>\n

When the Hook & Hastings organ was built in the 1920s, it was considered \u201cthe Cadillac of organs,\u201d says White, with obvious admiration. Some of the pipes are as small as several inches high, while others stretch 32 feet.<\/p>\n

Although White doesn\u2019t attend the church, he has had a long connection with the instrument – his father had cared for the organ for decades. \u201cI grew up knowing that organ,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

White has taken over his father\u2019s business and cares for 140 organs on a regular basis. \u201cThat organ is definitely one of my favorites \u2013 except for the electrical work.\u201d<\/p>\n

White replaced \u201ctens of thousands of wires\u201d that stretched \u201cmiles and miles.\u201d The \u201cpartial\u201d renovation took four months. All the electrical components were replaced with modern technology that does not require the wiring. Despite the changes, \u201cIt\u2019s going to have the same exact sound,\u201d White says.<\/p>\n

Restoring old organs is becoming more common, White says. \u201cThere are certainly churches that are shying away from the pipe organ, but there are a lot of churches that are preserving them. Since the Bicentennial, it seems more and more organs have come out of mothballs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The church is located in what Kirchoff calls an \u201ceclectic, funky, artist neighborhood\u201d and that the congregation is quite diverse. He adds, \u201cSome of the young couples have really commented on how they appreciate the traditional worship.\u201d<\/p>\n

The church has been able to pay for the organ and youth pastor due to generous donations above regular giving as well as fundraising, says Elliott-Hart. A large AME church that used the sanctuary while undergoing its own building renovation donated $1,600 to help hire Tinglof. A rummage sale netted $7,000 for the organ.<\/p>\n

To find directions to the church, visit the church website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BOSTON, MA (November 8, 2007) \u2013 The members of Covenant Congregational Church had a difficult decision to make \u2013 restore its large pipe organ, which has been used since the church was built during the Depression, or hire a youth pastor. 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