Pipe organ logs frequent flier miles

Lutheran, The, Apr 2001 by Golden, Karris

After more than 20 years of silence, the pipe organ at Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem resounded throughout the sanctuary last December.

But before it was reinstalled for Christmas Eve, the organ traveled several thousand miles (it was restored in Minnesota), was inspected by customs agents, taxed heavily at an Israeli port and hauled up and down the church's tight staircases.

As if that weren't enough, shortly before its inaugural performance at Bethlehem, the organ blew the church's transformer. The congregation's quick-thinking pastor, Mitri Raheb, pulled the battery from his car so it could be hooked up to the instrument. Organ restorer Charles Rutz (above) took a turn at holding the flashlight so guest organist Karen Ullestad of Des Moines, Iowa, could read music.

Bethlehem's sister congregation-Christ the Redeemer Lutheran in Minneapolis-spearheaded the restoration project. "It's been a satisfying endeavor," said project chair Charles Lutz. "To date we have received gifts from 535 donors, 65 of which are congregations and other institutions."

This wasn't the organ's first ride on an airplane. The 100-year-old instrument-one of the oldest in the Holy Land-had also been shipped from Germany.

Karris Golden

Golden is a contributing editor of The Lutheran.