Thursday, July 13, 2023

Update on the New Virtual Pipe Organ

September is approaching sooner than we think. We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of the new Northminster Virtual Pipe Organ. In June I along with Craig and my daughter Jennifer and Granddaughter Caroline drove to the Meta Organworks shop near Argyle, New York. That is a very small town northeast of Albany, but Dan Lemieux, the designer and builder, chose a spot in the remote foothills of the Catskills amid beautiful rolling farmland for his shop. You literally have to “turn off the blacktop road” to get there.

Dan and Melissa Burbank, his partner, welcomed us with a delightful dinner in their home, followed by a thorough tour of the shop the following day. Melissa provided Caroline ample arts and crafts supplies to keep her busy the 4 hours we spent there absorbing all that goes into the creation of these instruments.

Our instrument is nearly completely assembled and playable D H enjoyed having a go at it and all of us enjoyed watching and hearing Dan, who is an Eastman School of Music trained organist, perform. Dan recently published an article on his blog on Metaorganworks.com which thoroughly and succinctly describes exactly what a virtual pipe organ (VPO) is. The link to the article is below. I encourage all of you to look at it. There may be a term or two that you may not understand, but the article is written so that anyone can gain a better understanding of the fact that there are no pipes in this VPO AND that this is not a digital electronic organ either. The emerging concept of sampling real world-class organs is explained in layman’s language.

You may have noticed that two of the concrete urns and pedestals were removed from the chancel to make room for the new console. I am working to relocate my music library which is in the file cabinets behind the screen because a few of the components will be placed there. As you will see from Dan’s blog, this instrument will open a new realm of musical possibilities at Northminster.

As I have said previously, Dan is doing ground-breaking work. While there are several companies in Europe and the UK who market these instruments, he is the first to build and market in the U S. He has a major installation at Groton Hill Music Center (grotonhill.org) which is incredible. One of the most impressive parts of our visit was seeing how animated and passionate Dan is about his work. Looking forward to September!! 



D H

Click this link to Dan Lemieux's recent blog post explaining in detail the concept and process of the building of our instrument.

Dan Lemieux Blog

Opening Hymn: God of the Women

This hymn celebrates women in ministry, in the Bible, and faithful women of today. Written by Carolyn w. Gillette in 1998 and sung to the tune SLANE..

Middle Hymn: Nearer, My God, to You Sarah Flowers Adams, daughter of a well known English editor, was a successful actress in London. During her short life she wrote prose and poerry for regula publications, a five-act drama, and a children's catechism.

Anthem:  The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi American composer, Rene Clausen, was commissioned by the Borger High School Varsity Choir in 1992 to write a piece for them to sing at the Texas Music Educators Association Convention. Johnny Miller was the director of the choir and the piece is dedicated to his father, Bob Miller.

The Communion Anthem: If You Love Me Written by John Ness Beck.

Closing Hymn: The Church of Christ in Every Age Poet Fred Pratt Green has been a chaplain, parish minister, administrator, and playwright. Since retiring from parish responsibilities in 1969 he has been an active hymn writer and makes his home in Norwich, England.

The Postlude Club

Remember the Postlude Club meets on the chancel following the benediction for the short musical postlude. You may converse, collect flowers (you will have first dibs!!), and ask any question of our musicians. Feel free to wander up anytime.

We pray for...

Kyle Gregory (surgery); Julie Bulloch (broken foot); Angela Boateng (in the passing of her father in Ghana); Justin Havard (in the passing of his grandmother); Carol Rhodes (cancer, sister of Amy Johnson); John Sandow, son of Tracy and Mary Sandow; Elvis Stelly; Pat Cohn; H.T. Garner; Judy Gaddy; Judy Eddington, Jay Aro; Tracy & Mary Sandow; Margaret Wood, cancer, friend of Carol Ann Tubbs; Sarah Maloney (17 yo w/cancer), friend of Carol Ann Tubbs; Buddy Aulds, son in law of Kay Southern; Kade Stapleton (extended family of Hannah Clark); Duane Crews (nephew of Hannah Clark); Our friends and partner church, Iglesia Bautista Enmanuel, in Ciego de Avila, Cuba.

MARY SANDOW CELEBRATES 90!

Last Monday, July 10th, Charter Northminster member Mary Sandow celebrated her 90th birthday! We here at Northminster love Mary and her husband Tracy and are so thankful that Mary can be in worship and fellowship with us as often as possible. Mary is still home and would love visitors. Tracy is still at Avalon and would also appreciate visits from our congregation.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARY!!

CHURCHWIDE GATHERING CELEBRATING SAMUEL BOATENG

Please join us for swimming at 5pm and potluck at 6pm followed by an abbreviated business meeting at 7pm in the home of DH and Craig, 2401 Point Dr., Monroe Sunday evening. We will be celebrating and wishing good luck and farewell to Samuel Boateng. Samuel will be moving to Dallas to continue his studies at the end of July. He will receive his PhD in Pharmacology in December. In case of bad weather we will meet at the church at 6pm for Potluck followed by the abbreviated business meeting at 7pm and celebrate with Samuel. The youth will play games.

SAMMIE, YOU WILL BE SORELY MISSED!!!

July Mission Trunk Emphasis

Children's Coalition

(Early Head Start)

The Children’s Coalition believes in and enacts empowerment strategies for children and their many influencers through education designed to understand the growth and development stages of children from infancy through adolescence, to better enable the modeling and teaching of new skills and behaviors that contribute to the development of a healthy sense of self-worth in all children and the skill sets required to provide as much safety, stability, and opportunities to them from all concerned.

Items for donation include these needs: Diapers sizes 3, 4, 5, 6. Wipes. Training underwear 2T, 3T. Socks—infant, small, and toddler. Board books. These are targeted to the Early Head Start programs of the Coalition.

Detainee Aid Group

More involvment is needed in this important mission! If anyone missed their opportunity to get in on this ground level chance to do some good works by driving or delivering meals, etc., now would be a good time to contact Mara Loeb to inquire how you can help. Her email is maraloeb@hotmail.com. Spanish language skill a bonus but not required.

A Message From Mara Loeb

When I started the immigrant support mission in 2021 I was graced with donations from congregation members. Two years and hundreds of immigrants later, the funds are gone. If anyone would like to support this mission with funds, instead of physically helping, please let me know. I can be contacted at 318-348-3026 or maraloeb@hotmail.com

Sunday's floral offering was from the Celebration of the Life of Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy.



Arrangements by Peggy Caskey, Robert Crawford, and Marilyn Decker

Administrative Assistant, Renee Decker's band, Homegrown will begin at 7pm!