Church organ to be dedicated

By WAYNE QUESENBERRY/Staff

Rural Retreat United Methodist Church recently experienced a successful organ transplant. Its 16-rank M.P. Moller pipe organ, installed new in 1941, underwent a major rebuilding.
The $71,350 project took three years of planning and implementation. Today, the rebuild has been completed and all expenses have been paid thanks to the generous contributions of the congregation and friends of the church.
According to the church’s pastor, Brian Burch, the idea of rebuilding the organ was suggested in June 2006 by Barger and Nix Organs of McDonald, Tenn. The company tunes the organ twice each year.
“We created a committee to determine if we wanted to go with the rebuild or buy a new organ,” recalled Burch. “The initial price tag was $59,700 compared to half a million to a million dollars for a new one.”
The late M.P. Moller was a prolific American organ builder in Hagerstown, Md., from 1875 to 1992, according to Internet information. The Danish immigrant founded the company in 1875.
Moller organs were found in thousands of churches of all denominations, schools, concert halls, private residences and movie theaters. They were known to be basically well-built.
Once the church agreed to the upgrade, it pledged $10,000 from savings toward the project. By July 15, 2007, the congregation had raised over half of the expenses.
This past July, representatives of Barger and Nix Organs removed the pipes from the organ and cleaned the chambers. They took the console back to their shop on Tennessee.
Upgrades included improved operating systems, a new console, additional stops and other computerized additions. They were completed two weeks ago.
“The inside of it looks like the inside of a computer,” Burch noted. “It’s all state-of-the-art.”
Anne Powell has been the organist at Rural Retreat United Methodist Church since 2006. She has played the organ for 20 years.
“It’s exquisite. I love it,” Powell said of playing the rebuilt organ. “The tone and quality are so good. I’m so glad we still have the pipe organ.”
She explained that the organ’s 16 ranks are associated with stops or tabs above the manual keyboard. The stops when pressed produce a flute, principal or reed sound, according to her. The more ranks an organ has, Powell said, the more sounds its pipes can produce.
“We are so fortunate to have such a quality instrument and to have been able to restore the organ,” she commented. “Many churches are faced with the spiraling costs of a pipe organ rebuild and opt for a cheaper digital organ or other instruments. However, as a passionate organist for over 20 years, I know pipe organs provide a richer tone and better quality of music for religious worship not available through these other instruments. I am very thankful that the church decided to make improvements on this quality of pipe organ with new upgrades and feel privileged to carry on the tradition of Rural Retreat United Methodist Church following many accomplished organists before me.”
The organ rebuild, Burch said, is the church’s third major project in three years.
“It’s exciting to have it paid off,” he stated. “The congregation has been wonderful with contributions. We’ve also received significant gifts from people outside the church who have moved away or people who used to go here and remember hearing the organ. God has done some great things here.”
Burch reported the average attendance at his church as 135. Membership is 310, according to him.
Rural Retreat United Methodist Church at 503 Church St. is in its third location. It has been there since 1916.
“The church here was designed to accommodate a pipe organ,” commented Burch, who has pastored the church since June 2004.
This Sunday, Dec. 6, at 11 a.m., the church will host a dedication program. Wytheville District Superintendent of the United Methodist Church, the Rev. Meg Taylor, will attend and offer a dedication prayer.
On Sunday, Dec. 13, at 11 a.m., critically acclaimed organist, Dr. Eileen Morris Guenther, will perform for another dedication service. She is the national president of the American Guild of Organists and associate professor of music at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.
Guenther has performed throughout Europe, Brazil and the United States. She produced and hosted “The Royal Instrument,” a popular and award-winning program of organ music heard on WGMS (now WETA-FM), a classical music radio station in Washington, D.C.
Wayne Quesenberry can be reached at 228-6611 or wquesenberry@wythenews.com.