First German Evangelical Lutheran Church on Manitowoc’s southside has embarked on a Leap of Faith.
A three-member committee has been formed to lead fundraising for an approximately $575,000 Pipe Organ Project to replace the source of their music ministry since 1919.
Joel Ungemach, the Organ Committee Chairman and Fine Arts Director at Lutheran High School, said once they reach their goal the organ that’s helped lead the congregation in worship, will be refurbished.
“The entire organ will be taken down to Ohio to the workshop of Schantz Organ Company,” he explained. “They’ll be redoing all of the woodwork, cleaning up the 1919 pipes, adding some additional pipes that meet the historical sound of our pipe organ and getting everything ready and set down there and fine-tuned.”
After that’s done, Ungemach said workers from the company in Orrville, Ohio will return the organ to First German.
Pastor Mark Zarling tells Seehafer News that as the oldest Lutheran Church in Manitowoc, they have had thousands of Christians singing with that pipe organ to enhance the meaning of the words.
“So that for example Easter is coming and you can have vibrant trumpet sounds, and just majestic,” he noted. “It’ll be a different sound on Good Friday, more solemn and the different pipes allow the organist to kind of tailor make the sound that’s going with the words.”
Organist Jennifer Knutson is looking forward to the organ’s enhanced registration to restore the integrity of the sound, along with a feature of a base pedal or auto stop.
“That will allow our keyboardists in the congregation, whether they are strong on the organ or on the piano, that they hop on the organ bench and hit that button, bringing any registrations from the foot pedal up onto the keyboard and have that full registration,” she explained. “So, I’m really looking forward to exploring those sounds.”
Ungemach tells us they’re really off to a good start with the congregation already and are using this as a thanks offering.
“For the 150 years of blessings that we have had with the current church building,” he revealed. “We’re celebrating our 150th anniversary in 2023 and this will be one of the projects that we undertake.”
The fundraising timeline is open-ended because Schantz Organ Company hasn’t given the local church a firm date of when they can do their project because they’re working on an organ for the Metropolitan Opera in New York City!
Ungemach said he finds it quite amusing that they’re second in line to the Met.
Currently, the company is 18 months to 2 years out on projects.
Those with questions or interest in the project can email Joel at jungemach@mlhslancers.org.
