A New Organ for St. Philip’s
July 22, 2014
The Vestry has been thinking about our current Allen organ for a few years. Electric organs have a very limited lifespan, and our organ is well past its prime. We know it would take at least $2,000 to repair it and to replace some of the speakers that have ruptured. But we have been reluctant to spend the money on an organ that may not last anyway.
We also have been thinking about getting a real pipe organ. There is a real difference between the quality of sound a pipe makes, and the sound an electric organ makes. Just as we have moved to real bread for the Eucharist we have been thinking of moving to real pipes to support our prayer in song. More than that, with proper maintenance, pipe organs last hundreds of years.
Furthermore, the Vestry has discussed raising funds, a few years from now, to improve any organ that we might buy.
This is a great time in church history to pick up a used organ, as many churches across the country are closing and selling their organs. The problem is that many of these organs are thousands of miles away. We could purchase one organ back east for $5,000, but it would cost $15,000 just to get it here. Then we are talking more to set it up.
While we have some money to spend on an organ right now, it just didn’t feel right to invest so much and not be able to hear it. We also have some other financial priorities such as
• Developing a reserve fund for our regular budget
• Saving money to replace our roof
• Saving money to repair some parts of our facility
So we have been waiting and praying.
Last week we learned that an organ was coming out of St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Tacoma. This is a 1951 organ made by Moller. A large church was getting an organ, was selling their medium size organ to St. Andrews who sold it to our friends at Puget Sound Pipe Organs. They are located in Stanwood and are friends with Mike Gagnon our organist.
So Jim and Mike from Puget Sound Pipe Organs called Pastor Terry up to see if we might be interested. We got a bid from them and on Sunday, July 20th at a special Vestry meeting we voted unanimously to accept the bid.
We will be getting the 1951 Moller organ with
• Four ranks of pipes
• New blower
• The pipes are in good condition
Puget Sound Organ will put in
• An eight by 12 foot box to house the pipes
• Some new wiring to meet modern code
• Some new air channels built
• And normal installation
Because the organ is being moved to St. Philip’s directly from St. Andrews, and because we have a relationship with Puget Sound Pipe Organs, we are getting a significant price break. The total cost will be $12,000 plus tax. Typically this would have cost us over $16,000.
In return we will work with Puget Sound Pipe Organs for our maintenance and any future upgrades we might choose to do.
This organ gives us several things
• A reasonable price
• An organ that we can use now
• An organ that we can build on and improve over
time as needs and money develop
We will be making a deliberate plan for the future. This plan may include two stages of development for this organ including some more modern controls and more ranks of pipes. The work that Puget Sound Pipe Organs will be doing will be done in a way so as to build a base for future upgrades.
To get this deal we had to move fast. Typically we would have wanted to have discussion in the congregation before making such a decision but there just was not time. In addition, we typically want to find several bids for large purchases. While we discussed this, we did not think that such a bidding process was feasible in this case.
Here is the schedule of installation:
Monday, July 21 – begin dismantling in Tacoma
Tuesday, July 21 through Friday, July 25 – parts begin to arrive at St. Philip’s
Monday, August 4 – Begin re-installation
The pipes will be stored, temporarily, the back of the sanctuary near the sound board. We will retain an aisle for fire exit and such.
We have found a private person who wants the Allen organ for private practice. They will remove it at their risk and expense.
Your Vestry is also in the middle stages of creating a six-year financial plan. While we may have to adjust this plan somewhat due to this purchase, we feel that this is a necessary investment in our future ministry together – a future that we increasingly feel good about!
In Christ,
The Vestry of St. Philip’s
The Rev. Terry Kyllo, Rector
