St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish in Kendall Park blessed its new pipe organ and chambers on June 19. PHOTO COURTESY OF MARC C. KOLLAR SOUTH BRUNSWICK — St. Augustine of Canterbury Roman Catholic Church celebrated its new pipe organ and pipe chambers on June 19.
The Most Rev. Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski, Bishop of Metuchen, blessed the organ during the 10:30 a.m. Mass for the feast of the Most Holy Trinity.
“The organ is the second pipe organ in the church. The old one was installed in 1989 when the church was built,” said William Berg, music director and organist at the Kendall Park parish.
The previous pipe organ was not dependable and ultimately broke down during Holy Week in 2010. A new organ was donated by the parishioners of St. Augustine through memorial gifts.
“We saved all the old working pipes and parts that we could, so there is part of the original pipe organ still part of this new instrument,” Berg said. “This was done to save cost to the parishioners. This also fulfilled the (late) pastor’s vision of having the organ more central, which was the original plan.”
The Peragallo Pipe Organ Co., Paterson, built the custom pipe organ, which will be used for the six weekend Masses as well as special daily Masses and school liturgies and other services.
The organ will also be used for the monthly children’s Mass, during the contemporary folk group Mass and for teaching organ students who play for services at the church, Berg said.
The most exciting use of the organ is for “beautiful personal services such as weddings. The new, grander, fuller tones will add joy to the new bride and groom as they celebrate their union in Christ,” Berg said.
“The organ will also be used for outreach in the form of concerts open to the community. The organ has a wide range of tonal colors that were not present in the old instrument, and this works wonderfully in Masses but gloriously in concerts as well,” he continued.
The first public concert will be the dedication concert on Aug. 22 at 7:30 p.m.
“We are most proud of our beautiful new instrument. This instrument will be serving the church’s musical needs for generations,” Berg said.
The Teacher Expo, Expanding Teaching Horizons, an informative expo for professional educators, is being held in four locations in New Jersey this summer. Admission and parking are free.
The 2011 schedule is:
Edison, July 28 at the Hilton Garden Inn, 50 Raritan Center Parkway;
Tinton Falls, Aug. 4 at the Doubletree (formerly Holiday Inn), 700 Hope Road;
Wayne, Aug. 10 at the Wayne PAL, 1 PAL Drive; and
Cherry Hill, Aug. 17 at the Holiday Inn, 2175 Marlton Pike (Route 70).
The Teacher Expo will feature exhibits on a wide variety of topics, including publishers, professional development information, curriculum enhancement, innovations, technology, school supplies, financial/retirement planning, colleges and universities, class trips, assembly programs, fundraisers and more. The exhibits will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
There will also be free one-hour workshops presented by Regional Training Center, Tequipment Inc., and The College Board. The workshops are designed for teachers of grades K-12. At the conclusion of the presentation, each participant will receive a certificate for one professional development hour.
Visit www.teacherexpos.com for more information. Register by calling 201-634- 0338 or by emailing [email protected].