Church starts raising money — up to $1 million — for pipe organ restoration

The organ has chipped ivory keys, a few dead notes and a wiring system that isn’t up to code. The leather diaphragms that let air into the pipes are cracking, and sometimes parts are out of tune with others.

The Kilgen pipe organ was installed in The Church of the Blessed Sacrament in the 1950s, at about the same time the church was built. It only has a life span of about 50 years, so the church is now rallying to fund replacement parts.

Cost of renovating the organ is high: anywhere from $250,000 to $1 million.

“We want our grandchildren and great grandchildren to be able to able to walk down the aisle and be able to hear this great instrument,” said Rachel Dugan, music director at the church.

Some wonder why they should pay so much to restore the pipe organ, Dugan said, but she and others believe it is an important part of the church.

It is used for all High Masses, feast days and weddings throughout the year.

“It is the instrument of the church,” Dugan said. “It’s one of the reasons why we are able to have such heightened Mass on the weekends. I also firmly believe that it is a great leader in congregational singing.”

The $250,000 would keep the organ’s current mechanics, replace the leather diaphragms and incorporate some new pipe work.

A $500,000 price tag could allow them to replace the leather with a mechanical system, meaning they wouldn’t have to do the same maintenance in the next 50 years.

Going up to $900,000 would allow them to rebuild the organ with new pipes and a beautiful façade, but Dugan doesn’t think that’s as realistic.

Purchasing an electric organ would cost about the same, Dugan said, but the music wouldn’t have the same power.

The church already has begun getting basic pledges from parishioners. It will also look for sponsors, people who care deeply about organ music. Once the work has begun, Dugan also plans to apply for grants and possibly take out a loan from the diocese.

Dianne Rosell, a member of the choir, sits right next to the organ box that contains all the pipes. When the former organist would turn it on, it “sounded like an airplane taking off,” she said.

The organ is on a second level toward the back of the church, also where the choir sits.

“A lot of times after a big Christmas Mass or Easter Mass, we’d sing our big closing piece, then David would pull out some huge organ piece,” she said. “It would be going full blast. It was just uplifting, so cool to be right there where the organ was. If I was sitting downstairs I would have been in awe of it.”

Patrick Harms, the church’s organist, said he spends a lot of time working around the problems the organ has.

“If it doesn’t have those problems, it’s a wholly different experiences and I can focus more on better accompanying the congregation, more devotion of my talents to actually playing the organ versus working around the organ,” he said.

Harms replaced the church’s previous organist, David Spatz, who died in the spring. Renovating the organ will also allow the church an opportunity to commemorate Spatz, Dugan said.

A pipe organ has the ability to “surround” people with sound, Harms said, something a piano or electric organ can’t accomplish.

“It really gives the musician the power to fully encompass and lift them up better towards God,” Harms said. “Because of its range of sounds and things you can do with it, it’s more suited to accompany a congregation than any other instrument.”