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Church to honor 100-year-old organ with recital A century of great sound deserves a big celebration, so First Congregational United Church of Christ is pulling out all the stops with an organ recital to celebrate its 100-year-old pipe organ, the oldest in DuPage County. The Austin Opus 163 organ recital is at 4 p.m. Sunday at the church, 25 E. Benton Ave., Naperville. “Our church has been in the middle of historic Naperville and been a big part of the community. I hope all who attend the recital realize that this church is a community resource,” said Diane Herr, a church member who is handling publicity for the recital. The church’s year-long celebration has been showcasing its century-old yellow limestone building, sanctuary stained-glass windows and oak woodwork. Chartered in 1833, it is the oldest church in DuPage County. During the recital, the pipe organ, with its hand-carved filigree and original 1,014 pipes, will be played by members of the Fox Valley Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. A variety of selections will be played, including works by Dietrich Buxtehude, J.S. Bach, Andre Campra, Louis Vierne, Percy Fletcher and Paul Manz. Members of the church choir will accompany the organ music. Anyone interested in singing with the choir is invited to join them for a rehearsal at 2:45 p.m. Sunday. They will be singing Charles Gounod’s “Sanctus.” While the pipe organ is the star of the show, those who attend also will get a glimpse of history as they look at the church sanctuary. Built in 1906, original gas lamp mountings and a paneled oak-vaulted ceiling may still be seen. The sanctuary windows are some of the finest period examples of stained and opalescent glass in Naperville, Herr said. “Some of the windows in the sanctuary are more than 100 years old,” she said. “The stained-glass windows were donated by founding families in the church.” This is the second church building for the First Congregational United Church of Christ. The congregation outgrew the first many years ago, but reused some of the original windows. Throughout the last century, church members have been involved in major social changes and even played a role in the infamous relocation of the county seat from Naperville to Wheaton. “Judge Cody, a member of one of the founding families of the church, was the judge when people from Wheaton stole the court house records, and he rang the church bell to alert the people of Naperville to come and help,” said Herr. Another charter family member, Captain Morris Sleight, donated the land for the church and requested that the bell be kept in the bell tower. To this day, the bell is rung every Sunday. Many of the founding family names are still a part of Naperville, showing up as street names, local institutions and attractions, including Martins, Nichols, Scott, Royce, Barnard, Goodrich, Cody, Earl and Crampton. There is no charge for the recital, but a freewill offering will be taken. There will be a reception after the recital. For details, visit the Web site at www.loveandjustice.org or call (630) 355-1024. |
• Copyright © 2007 First Congregational Church |
