“For me, playing music has always been something from the soul.”

These are the words of Rev. Jeff Carstens, pastor of Emmaus’ St. John’s Lutheran Church, to his congregation May 21. That afternoon, the harmonic sounds from the new organ filled the church during the organ dedication service, for this congregation of just under 2,000 baptized members.

Research on St. John’s original pipe organ revealed it was installed in 1924 by the Midmer-Losh Organ Company of Merrick. By the late 1970s, repair and maintenance costs were starting to increase. An organ committee purchased a new organ in 1976 but that committee became inactive by 1978.

A couple of years later, the organ committee regrouped and secured the services of Lehigh Organ Company in Macungie to build a new organ. By 2019, what is referred to as the “Lehigh Organ” was showing signs of a need for urgent repairs. With the Lehigh Organ Company no longer in business, a new solution had to be found as the organ was deemed a fire hazard to the church.

In an interview with The Press, Carstens explained, “four years ago, Grace Lutheran Church of Allentown closed and they put an ad in the church flyers that said ‘free to a good home’ basically.

“Over a period of months and years, the organ was disassembled, moved here and then reassembled and put into place.”

Carstens credits the congregation and the team of volunteers who helped with the process of getting the pipe organ to its new home.

The new pipe organ was purchased by Grace Lutheran Church back in the late 1880s from M.P. Moller. A three-manual console was added to the organ, and in 1985, pipe refurbishment was done with an additional blower and windchests by the Fritsche Organ Company. The pipes were refurbished at a cost of $20,000 in the late 1990s.

The pipe organ’s sounds are now an integral part of the services of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Emmaus.