"All for the Glory of God" was Pastor Ralph Mineo’s passionate call to his
flock for the Schantz pipe organ rededication service and the recent 115th
anniversary celebration at St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in North
Baltimore.
The sounds of the organ and enthusiastic choir filled the church with celebration.
The church serves the North Baltimore community and is braced for increases with
the recent addition of the CSX intermodal.
The church enlisted the assistance of the Leek Pipe Organ Company to restore the pipe
organ for use.
Janet Goldner, director of music and organist at St. Luke’s, spoke at length with the
organ company about the project over the phone. She has served the church for 40
years and studied organ at Bowling Green State University.
The project began about a year ago when the company that built and maintains the
instrument informed Goldner that the organ really needed some work. The organ
was built in the early 1940s and had never been restored since.
There was serious deterioration of leather parts, corrosion of metal components such
as the keyboards and pedal contacts. Very much like an old light switch in your
house that does not work properly. The switch may have to be turned on and off a
few times before the light turns on. "Metal against metal" had caused
damage over the years; wood components were warped through expansion and drying
out.
Electrical and mechanical parts (especially relays) were worn out. With the dirt and
grime that had settled in the organ over the past 70 years, the pipe organ
needed a thorough cleaning as well.
When informed of the details, the Congregation Council began to research their
options, which included: restoring the organ, restoring and augmenting the
organ, or replacing the organ with an electronic organ. To better understand the
impact of their decision, the council scheduled "field trips" to the
organ builder’s shop and neighboring churches with newer, larger instruments. Of
course, as a small church, raising funds was an additional challenge. It was
when a family of St. Luke’s generously pledged a single, large estate gift for
this purpose, that the council was energized to pursue the restoration actively.
This gift encouraged them to find other creative ways to fund the restoration
project.
In the process of fundraising and informing members of the congregation, some of the
questions that were presented included, "Why don’t we sell the pipe organ
and buy a new one for less?" "With such a big expense, isn’t our pipe
organ virtually dead?" And another good question was "How much is our
pipe organ worth today?"
The pastor, Goldner, and the council worked diligently to address any and all
questions raised. Mineo used the analogy of comparing the church building and
the instrument to a human body, especially tying it to the scriptural teaching
of the "Body of Christ." He said, "Our bodies need regular
maintenance (i.e. food and water, an expense that is part of their ongoing
budget). Once in a while the body needs a one-time major repair (e.g. hip
replacement), a one-time expense." In the same way, he made the case for
the organ restoration.
He also used resources found on the Internet to further inform the congregation,
including a 16-page document from the White Plains United Methodist Church in
Cary, North Carolina.
The pastor addressed most of the questions on the church’s website.
After further investigation, Leek Pipe Organ Company, based in Oberlin, was selected
for the restoration. The council thought it best to time the restoration in 2012
with the 70th anniversary of the organ and the 115th anniversary of the church.

Members were allowed to tour the company’s facilities while the organ was being
restored.
According to officials from Leek, "Everyone who attended the tour was very
impressed with the tender, loving care that their instrument was receiving from
John Powell, Jeffrey Green (staff members of Leek) and James Leek."
North Baltimore resident Bill Wirt, a descendant of the founding members of the
church itself, said the tour was the best experience he had in a long time.
The restoration project was extensive, but very successful
The organ was re-dedicated with guest organist James Clouser during Sunday worship
celebration on Aug. 5.
A luncheon was served following worship by volunteers. The service was filled with
inspiring music and powerful preaching on the importance of community and the
power of music. At the end of the homily, Mineo prayed an enthusiastic litany,
which moved the congregation to respond, "…all to the glory of God!"
The pipe organ too was poised to sing on a regular basis for the glory of God
for many years to come.
On the Net:
White Plains document:
http://wpumc.com/fileadmin/content/ministries/Music_Ministry/images/Organ%20FAQ.pdf