Pipe Organ Project Moves Forward!

Thanks to the artistry of Jim Ahrend and Nathan Cleaveland, the St. John’s pipe organ is an integral part of our sanctuary worship services. Since it was installed a couple of decades ago, this instrument has beautifully accompanied choral and congregational singing, as well as providing a lovely vehicle for both our staff and guest organists through the years.

The pipe organ in St. John's United Methodist Church Sanctuary.

What you may not know is that the instrument is incomplete. 

When the organ was built in 2006 (by the Reuter Organ Company in Lawrence, Kansas), the installation was about 2/3 of the size of the instrument that was designed for the space. Because of budget constraints, we went ahead with the project and hoped that one day we would be able to complete it.

Dedication plaque from when the pipe organ was first built in 2006.

A lot has happened in the interim. The price of materials and labor continued to rise, even as there were steady donations to the pipe organ fund. Then, in 2022, Reuter closed its factory after 105 years of building organs. While many folks continued to dream of completing the St. John’s organ, it did not seem likely.

Until this year.

Back in 2024, Jim Ahrend received word from our organ tuner that a church in Denver was looking to give away a substantial portion of their Reuter pipe organ. After investigating the prospects, and discussing the matter with our congregation’s trustees, we decided to claim the Denver pipes.

Several weeks later, a truckload of pipes arrived from Denver. A very enthusiastic crew spent a couple of hours unloading large crates full of beautiful pipework. They went into storage in a stairwell at St. John's, on the hopes that one day they would be of use.

Not long after that, we received another piece of exciting news, from closer to home. Friends on the music staff  at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Nob Hill let us know that they were in the process of completing renovating their sanctuary, and had taken possession of a lovely small organ that they were going to install in the front of the room. The renovation was going to result in their balcony/choir loft being demolished, and their current pipe organ -- a Reuter of similar vintage as ours -- was no long going to be of any use to them. 

The pipe organ at St. Mark's Episcopal Church before demolition.

We immediately let them know of our interest, and then patiently waited for almost two years while St. Mark's did a building campaign and then started construction. We then negotiated to purchase their organ components and we signed a contract with a Colorado organ builder who was as excited as we were about these developments.

And so: over the last several months, under the supervision of Nathan and Jim, organ builders have been onsite at St. John's, installing some new (and new-to-us) pipework and other components. They've been doing some carpentry work in the unused shed on the southwest corner of the building, and installing the components as they've built them.

You might not have been aware of this, because the work has happened primarily on weekdays. But the organ chamber is much fuller than it was even a few months ago, and it will be fuller still before too long.

None of the new components are yet operational, so you haven't yet heard a difference in the instrument on Sunday mornings. The contract we signed with the organ builder promises completion of the project by Easter of 2027, but it's entirely possible that it will be finished much sooner than that.

The St. John's Organ Project has a long and circuitous history that predates my arrival on staff, and this latest (and final!) chapter will be the fruition of the dreams and support of many St. John's saints, some of whom are not with us anymore. I'm thrilled that the instrument that so many have envisioned and sacrificed for will finally be a reality.

(Scroll to see all of the images from the work completed on the pipe organ)

In the meantime, if you're interested in knowing more about the ins and outs of the project (or even in taking a tour!), please grab Jim Ahrend or Nathan Cleaveland on a Sunday morning after worship. Either or both of them will talk your ears off about the instrument, and about the musical possibilities that the completion of the organ will offer us. (I have been working for the last several months alongside two very excited and very geeky organists, so honestly, you'd be doing me a huge favor by giving them other people to talk to about this.)

And, while the completion of the organ project is being funded be a few very generous donors, it is entirely possible to offer your support to this endeavor. Send me an email if you would like to discuss making a gift, or simply write a check or give online and designate your gift "St. John's Pipe Organ."

In 2027, we'll have several events to celebrate the completion of the project, including a big dedicatory recital and several smaller musical offerings. And we will get to enjoy a truly one-of-a-kind instrument that will enhance our worship and music experiences for decades to come.

 - Matthew Greer

   Director of Music and Worship