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A message from Melanie Sigafoose

A towering work of art

By Melanie Sigafoose, director of music

On the afternoon of Aug. 24, 2008, two semis pulled into the St. Paul parking lot, loaded with all the makings of a pipe organ. A hard-working crew of St. Paul folks spent about four hours unloading blowers and bellows, enough woodwork to build a case 36 feet tall, keyboards to be played by hands and feet, a beautiful console with lots of fun-looking knobs and buttons, exactly 2,335 pipes, and lots of “miscellaneous organ parts.” It was an absolutely incredible day, not soon to be forgotten.

As the endless parade carried things big and small into the church, jaws dropped and eyes grew wide as we began to more fully realize the enormity of this project. We knew our instrument was going to be big. But — WOW!!!! How would the crew ever find where each piece needed to go? How would the heaviest parts ever be lifted off the floor? How long would it take to put it all together? And how would all of these assorted and scattered parts and pieces ever become our new pipe organ?

Fortunately, our organ builders know the answers to all these questions and more! St. Paul Lutheran Church is tremendously blessed with an outstanding organ-building crew. They know exactly how to build this instrument. Six weeks after the semis arrived at the church, we have a stunning organ case towering in our sanctuary. Every pipe has found its home, and all of the parts and pieces have come together perfectly, all because of the remarkable planning and ingenuity and craftsmanship of our crew.

In this season of our Acting with Love campaign, I find myself turning to scripture passages centered on the theme of “love.” The very well-known passage in 1 Corinthians 13 is one that comes to mind, where the apostle Paul talks of love as being patient and kind and never-ending. Paul continues, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part. Then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.”

When we carried 23,000 pounds of organ parts into the sanctuary on a steamy August afternoon, it was a real stretch for us to even see “dimly” how any of it could ever come together to create a pipe organ. We only knew parts and pieces and assorted pipes. But now we know more fully. Week by week, we have watched a beautiful wooden case be built to house our organ, we have seen pipes lifted into place, and we have witnessed an incredible instrument finding a home in our Sanctuary.

But alas, we are not yet able to “fully know” our pipe organ. Now the real fun begins with voicing and tuning all of the 2,335 pipes! We’ll need to be patient for a couple more months, while the crew finishes its work, making our organ sound as beautiful as it looks. By Christmas, the work should be complete, and our ears will delight in the lovely and magnificent sounds of organ music.

I cannot say enough good things about the crew from M.L. Bigelow & Co. These talented workers have tremendous skill and dedication, and are blessing us with an amazing instrument. We may never fully know all of the expertise and details that each of them contributed to this pipe organ, but we are grateful to them for giving so much of themselves. So, a heartfelt “thank you” to Mike Bigelow, David Chamberlin, Shayne Ward, Katherine Bigelow, Dustin Cottongim, and Melanie Smith.

Melanie Sigafoose,

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