“It’s like the same thrill you’d have at a concert.” St. Peter’s Lutheran pipe organ returns after two decades
Jan 30, 2026
For the first time in more than 20 years, the community in Forestville can hear the historic organ at St. Peters Lutheran Church come to life again.Watch below to learn more about the organ getting a second chance: Its like the
same thrill youd have at a concert: after two decades, St. Peters Lutheran Churchs pipe organ returns"I think people will be itching every Sunday morning to hear this," Pastor Christopher Jackson, said.Rev. Christopher Jackson says the plan began about five years ago, when the congregation at St. Peters Lutheran Church started discussing plans to revitalize its aging organ."Some of our new and younger members actually had the most interest in seeing it revitalized," Rev. Jackson said.Built in 1974, the original organ had mechanical problems from the start, and Jackson says those issues grew worse over the years."By the early 2000s somewhere around 2000 or 2002 it just became really unworkable," Rev. Jackson said.Since then, the church has relied on a digital organ, but about two years ago, pipe organ builder Robert Hoppe was brought in to restore the original instrument.The congregation preserved the original pipes and wind system while much of the rest of the organ was rebuilt."What happens between the pressing of the key and the air going through the pipe is it's run by a little computer. It communicates via a printer cable," Robert Hoppe said.The new organ fills the church with music, even reaching outside the sanctuary."It's like the same thrill you would have of going to a concert and hearing a band or an orchestra all across the stage, hearing the sound mix in the room, versus hearing that same sound condensed and in a speaker," Hoppe said.The community will get a chance to hear the restored organ on Saturday, Jan. 31, at 4 p.m., when St. Peters Lutheran Church holds its Hymn Fest.
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