St. Paul’s Episcopal in Foley has new custom pipe organ

St. Paul’s Episcopal in Foley has new custom pipe organ

A custom built Noack pipe organ will be delivered to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Foley on Aug. 3. During the following week the 16 rank organ, which contains almost 1000
pipes played on two manuals and a pedal board, will be assembled and is expected to be ready to accompany worship the following Sunday. Additional fine tuning (voicing) will be done after the organ has settled into its new environment by Bertrand Cattiaux, who recently did the voicing for the restored organ at Notre Dame in Paris.
The organ has been designed by Didier Grassin and built by the Noack Organ Company of Georgetown, Massachusetts and is the 170th organ the company has built since its founding in 1960. Each pipe and the oak case are handcrafted. Construction of the instrument was started at the Massachusetts workshop in the spring of 2024.
While there are some organs in south Baldwin County that combine pipes with electronic
settings, it is thought that the organ at St. Paul’s Episcopal will be the only fully pipe organ between Fairhope and Pensacola. The organ was given to St. Paul’s by an anonymous donor.
“The people of St. Paul’s are excited about this new pipe organ. Through the centuries pipe organs have proved to be ideal for supporting congregational singing. St. Paul’s uses a wide variety of musical styles in our worship. This organ will support and add to them all,’’ said Pastor Brent Norris.
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, located at 506 N. Pine Street in Foley, was founded in 1924 and is part of the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast. The congregation is active in
community outreach through Ecumenical Ministries of Baldwin County, Boys and Girls Club, Emergency Safe Shelter, and a Summer Feeding Program. Worship is on Sundays at 7:30 a.m.