Updates: The Pipe Organ

As mentioned last week, the church has been sold to another congregation. As the buyer was not interested in our wooden pipe organ, we wanted to find it a good home.
You will recall the organ was built for us between 2008 and 2010 by Wolf Kater of Rockburn, Quebec, (with some blood sweat and tears contributed by Dennis Brown and other SouthWest people). Rockburn is just a hop and a skip from the U.S. border, south of Ormstown. There is a little stone Presbyterian church there which dates from 1856. These days it is less denominational, seeing itself as a “Village church.” On Sundays they welcome a rotating cast of worship leaders including Stewart Burrows. You remember Stewart: he led worship at SouthWest several times, guitar in hand, back before the pandemic.

Anyway, it was decided to offer them the pipe organ, with the understanding that taking it down, transporting it and reassembling it in their church would be entirely up to them. Those present at the meeting following worship last Sunday voted unanimously in support of this plan. Wolf has been made aware and, what with living just down the road, he should be a great help in getting this done. No money will change hands between our two congregations (unless it’s a symbolic dollar) but we at SouthWest will have the peace of knowing that our organ, which we have enjoyed some twelve years, is still making a joyful noise unto the Lord. Sarah Fraser, who lives in that part of the world herself, says we should all go down for a service one Sunday once the organ has been installed. Chances are she will still have occasion to play it from time to time in its new home, which, when you think about it, is also its old home.

Rockburn Presbyterian Church