ST JOHN'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH EVENSONG AND ORGAN REDEDICATION

 

This past Tuesday evening I attended a beautiful service of Evensong to rededicate the pipe organ at St John's Episcopal Church.  The 1893 Ferrand & Votey organ was repaired and restored by Redman Pipe Organs.  The pipes in the loft of the church were moved forward to give them a more prominent placement.

The organ console is old but new to St John's.  The original console was not salvageable, so the first restoration included a newly-built console.  In the latest restoration, the working parts are enclosed in the antique console, which was originally painted white and only in need of a new coat of paint.  The style of the piece fits perfectly with the architectural style of the church.

Fr Ron Clingenpeel, our interim priest-in-charge for two years, returned to St John's to take the service which was all-around wonderful.  Our very own organist, LaDonna Alexander, played beautifully, along with Carol Britt, Head of the Department of Music at Nicholls State University.  Dr Britt's Postlude performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's "In Dulci Jubilio" was splendid, indeed.
 

Funds for the renovation of the organ came from a grant by the Lorio Foundation in memory of long-time St John parishioner, George Dickie, pictured at left.

The organ, along with the people who attended the service, made a joyful noise unto the Lord Tuesday evening. 

MAGNIFICENT SALISBURY CATHEDRAL

Salisbury Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Salisbury Cathedral is the most exquisite example of Gothic architecture I've seen in my life. Its symmetry, its relative simplicity, with little fussiness, its perfect proportions, its awe-inspiring upward thrust, all that and more served to make my visit to the great edifice a visual and spiritual joy.

The gorgeous vaulted and painted ceiling

The view down the nave toward the altar

The magnificent baptismal font, designed by William Pye and installed in 2008, has the following inscription:

'DO NOT FEAR FOR I HAVE REDEEMED YOU. I HAVE CALLED YOUR NAME, YOU ARE MINE. WHEN YOU PASS THROUGH THE WATERS I WILL BE WITH YOU. AND THROUGH THE RIVERS THEY SHALL NOT OVERWHELM YOU'

Read more about the font at the Salisbury Cathedral website.

All photos are from Wikipedia, with the exception of the font, which is mine.

And then, and then, as if the beauty of the cathedral were not enough, Cathy and I attended Evensong, sung by the choir of St Mark's Episcopal Church Choir from Berkeley, California, of which our long-time online friend, susan s, is a member. susan is third from left on the front row in the picture below. Imagine! I had to go to England to meet my fellow-citizen.

The choir from St Mark's sang beautifully. What a lovely finale to our visit to Salisbury Cathedral.

What a day! Earlier Cathy and I lunched with susan s., Erika, Laura (of Lay Anglicana) and her husband Robert, which lunch I will write about in due time. Chronological order is decidedly not my way of writing about my travels. Sorry about that.