The St. Luke’s United Church of Christ organ recital ended with applause and remarks by Pastor Ed Walters (left) for the various organists who played: Lisa Brochetti, Rebecca Veith, Anna Thomas, and Dr. James Hooks. St. Luke’s organist Janet Nemcheck is seated at the organ behind the rail and not visible in the photo.
The congregation of St. Luke’s United Church of Christ celebrated its 150th anniversary this past weekend with an organ recital on Saturday night.
The pipe organ in the chancel is an Esty 3239 Opus pipe organ that was installed in 1957. The Slagle Memorial Organ replaced the Moeller Pipe organ given by the Andrew Carnegie Foundation when the church was built in 1900. The Mamie Elizabeth Kriebel Flick Memorial Chimes were dedicated in 1990.
Since 1902, there have only been nine organists at the church.
Originally from Pittsburgh, Janet Nemchek and her husband now live in Kittanning. She became the church organist in June 2015. She feels the position of church organist is her spiritual calling.
“I am so honored to help them celebrate this anniversary,” Nemcheck said following the recital. “To follow these people who established the church, that donated the organ, and had huge choirs and huge congregations to play for, knowing that I am just one in a line (of accomplished musicians) is awesome to realize this lineage, this honor.”
Guest Organist Anna Thomas plays two selections during Saturday night’s 150th anniversary organ recital at St. Luke’s United Church of Christ.
Dr. James Hooks, a former church organist, served as the recital director.
“It’s a celebration! It’s a tribute to the congregation that they have preserved the organ, speaking musically,” Hooks said
Although attended by approximately 50 people, the congregation clapped like there were thousands in attendance.
“Obviously they were interested because they came. For our area, it was a decent turnout,” Hooks said.
Music in the church is changing and Hooks said the pipe organ plays just one part of the overall worship experience.
“What you heard in this recital was all traditional. Church music is not the same across the board. Some churches have praise bands and they use guitars and drums. What you heard here was a more traditional style. Pipe organ music will continue but it’s not the only worship experience. There was a time in the 1940s that you never heard of praise bands. They did not exist. Now the religion in the United States changed and you have mega churches and they don’t have pipe organs or rely on traditional music. They use different songs now.”
Pastor Ed Walters was humbled to be a part of the 150th anniversary celebration.
“With all the predecessors that have come before me, I am only the tenth (minister) in a long line of pastors that have been here,” Walters said. “It is privilege to be following in such footsteps. I am honored to be a part of the church and the history that it has had. We just pray we can leave this to our future generations.”
Following Saturday night’s organ recital, Sunday worship was celebratory. The church held a special dinner after Sunday’s worship service.