After losing its pipe organ to a lightning strike more than two years ago, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is preparing a concert to debut its new, all-digital organ system.
Musicians and singers will be performing in a free concert, open to the public, at 3 p.m. Sunday, celebrating the return of organ music to the church.
“We love outreach at St. Paul’s, and this is just … another addition to reaching out to the community and sharing the beautiful music,” Organ Committee member Betty Bryan told The Dispatch on Wednesday. “And we have a number of talented musicians in our church.”
Bryan told The Dispatch that the church’s pipe organ, which was a part of its services for at least 75 years, was damaged in a storm July 9, 2022. The lightning strike damaged the organ’s power source and fried its electrical wiring.
While the bell tower and other electrical equipment in the church was damaged, McLarty called the organ the most obvious loss, and a “heartbreak” for the church. But members of the organ committee started hunting for options to repair or replace the instrument.
Brad Colby of R.A. Colby helped members of the organ committee to compare new instruments, Bryan said. Committee members wanted to prioritize sound, she said, while working with costs compared to what insurance would cover. Eventually, the committee eventually found the all-digital Walker system, she said.
They had taken the trouble to send technicians all over Europe and America, and to record the sounds of some of the finest instruments in the world,” Bryan said. “And they were able to reproduce those sounds in high quality labs and then make them available to churches that purchase their systems.”
Once the committee found the new organ system, and got approval from the Vestry (the decision-making board for the church), they collected donations toward the new instrument. Donors that passed a certain threshold, Bryan said, were allowed to name one of the stops on the new instrument.
The new organ was installed in October 2023, though it still needed fine tuning.
Rev. Andrew McLarty said the new organ was ready just a few weeks after he came to the church in November. It was then blessed and dedicated by a bishop in January.
“It’s been a really great addition to our regular worship, to sing the hymns we could always sing on the piano, but some of them really are made for the organ,” McLarty said. “It just feels like church. And we have a more traditional service, and it’s such a heart for our liturgy and our music and our worship.”
Since organ music has returned to St. Paul’s, McLarty said, the early worship service has grown. But the church still wanted to do more to share its new instrument with the wider community, and to honor its history, McLarty said.
“For as long as churches have been around, especially grander and bigger spaces, they have doubled as places of worship but also as recital halls,” McLarty said. “It is very much a part of our history.”
Sunday’s concert will include a sort of “homecoming” by visiting organist Jeremy Adcock, who served as the church’s organist and choirmaster from 2013 to 2016. Adcock will be visiting from Mobile, Alabama.
“Organists and organs are becoming less of a thing, so having one like the one at St. Paul’s was just a gem for the community,” Adcock said. “It’s a shame that that lightning took it out, but I feel like what they have replaced it with is just as good quality.”
Adcock said he intends to play selections from Johann Sebastian Bach, Charles Callahan, Fred Swann and more, including a piece he arranged himself. Adcock said the music should appeal to a wide audience.
The concert will also feature congregants Andi Turner and Jace Ferraez singing. Turner and Ferraez will be accompanied by church organist Ellen Hawkins.
“I really hope we have a diverse audience in attendance,” Ferraez said. “I think everyone in the community can kind of get something from the concert. I hope people will attend.”
Sunday’s concert will begin at 3 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 318 College Street. A reception will follow in the Parish Hall. Everyone is welcome, McLarty said.
“If we can be stewards of the community by opening our doors for any and all, then we need to step up to that responsibility,” McLarty said.
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
