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From 1 Youngstown church to another
Photo
Kris Harper, music director at St. Patrick Church in Youngstown, plays the Votteler-Holtkamp-Sparling organ that was donated to the Catholic parish by John Knox Presbyterian Church, which closed last year. A dedication concert will be at 2 p.m. Sunday.
By LINDA M. LINONIS
linonis@vindy.com
YOUNGSTOWN
In this society with throwaway habits, it’s heartwarming — even inspirational — to know that some people treasure the importance of preservation and work to achieve it.
That was demonstrated in a series of events that unfolded last year when John Knox Presbyterian Church, built in 1917, closed and sold its building at 1806 Market St. to Community Corrections Association. Its governing body opted to donate its 1928 Votteler-Holtkamp-Sparling organ, rebuilt for nearly $100,000 in 1994 by Victor Organ Co., to St. Patrick Church, 1420 Oak Hill Ave.
The deal was sealed, so to speak, at a service Nov. 3, 2013, when the congregration presented the organ to the Rev. Ed Noga, St. Patrick pastor. Kris Harper, St. Patrick music director, played as the two church choirs sang.
An organ dedication concert is planned for Sunday at St. Patrick.
Kathy Esseniyi, John Knox deacon, told The Vindicator in October 2013 that she saw the donation as “the church continuing its mission work.”
The two South Side churches share a history.
John Knox Presbyterian, pastored by the Rev. Richard Braun from 1962-2001, was a charter member of ACTION, Alliance for Congregations Influencing Our Neighborhoods. Father Noga is the current president.
“When I came to St. Patrick, Pastor Braun was the first to welcome me and engaged me in activities,” Father Noga recalled. The priest will mark 30 years at the church next April.
Many years ago, he continued, the two churches participated in a joint evangelization effort in the neighborhood.
“We knocked on doors and gave people a list of churches in the neighborhood,” Father Noga said. Neither church promoted itself but used the event as a community outreach to suggest church attendance to residents.
“There’s a lot of history between the churches,” Father Noga said.
In a neighborhood that has seen its share of demolition, including part of the John Knox building, Father Noga said the preservation of the organ and its continued use in a church is refreshing change.
Harper also has ties to John Knox Presbyterian, where he was music director in the 1980s when he was in college and then from 1993-95.
Harper talked to Esseniyi about the future of the organ and broached the idea of St. Patrick’s buying it.
Around this time, St. Patrick had looked into the cost of upgrades for its organ as part of its capital campaign. “It was band-aided together,” Harper said, noting funds would cover only partial upgrades.
Father Noga and Harper said the “stars must have aligned” because the John Knox congregation decided to gift the organ to St. Patrick as a way of preserving it and keeping it on the South Side.
The organ, valued at $750,000, was installed at a cost of $52,000. In St. Patrick’s capital campaign, $40,000 had been budgeted to upgrade its old organ. Greg and John Lester of Akron installed the organ; St. Patrick members assisted.
“The organ has such beautiful tones,” Harper said, adding it will significantly improve the quality of sound for wedding and funeral music along with hymns.
The organ, Harper continued, also showcases the amazing acoustics in St. Patrick.