St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Green Cove Springs, FL
It would be hard to imagine a parish whose organ-replacement decision-making process was more painstaking than St Mary’s, yet Dan Bashor’s patience never faltered! The decision at long last having been made, the installation went smoothly—and was followed by Dan’s excellent tutorial session. Our new Viscount Chorum 90-DLX sounds amazing in our historic, riverfront church building. Dan continues to be super-helpful, responding to our myriad questions by phone or text message as we learn how to take full advantage of what this impressive instrument has to offer. We are so grateful to Church Organ Works!
Dr Lucinda Mosher
Music Director
Sitting majestically alongside and literally feet from the St. Johns River is the stunning little white St. Mary’s Episcopal Church. Its tall steeple reaches high to the sky, pointing the way towards Faith and Hope. Listed on the National Historic Register, this church is a remarkable treasure and has weathered many storms and even hurricanes. Its surrounding grounds are breathtakingly beautiful and peaceful.
Recognized for its welcoming spirit, St. Mary’s ministries and outreach are enhanced by an exceptionally diverse and talented music program. Because multiple gifted organists regularly play, an organ is central to the church and is also used for community performances. When the old organ began to fail, the search began for a formidable three-manual organ that would be able to handle all their needs. The Church selected Church Organ Works early on to provide a Viscount Chorum-90 Deluxe along with its custom bi-directional audio system for the new instrument. It fit the sound, quality, playing features, and anticipated budget requirements.
Sometimes fundraising happens quickly and sometimes it takes much time. Fundraising began in earnest and moved along, but just about when the Church thought they were getting close to getting ready for an organ installation, Covid-19 stepped in. Churches were closed and congregations had to determine how they could serve the more pressing needs of their Church family and the surrounding community. Priorities changed and life in general was uncertain for everyone.
As difficult as this was, the Church loved on each other and dug in together to figure out what was next. St Mary’s was one of the first churches we saw that began to have virtual worship. This included a very clever way for the individuals of the choir to sing together virtually. They also determined how to have safe spaces for everyone and worship outdoors in small groups. Nothing during this time was easy, but through it all, they were faithful people and God was faithful to them. Funds for the organ came in. Finally, in September we safely installed their new organ and it was wonderfully received.
It has been our great privilege to work with and serve this Church.
Dan Bashor
Church Organ Works Inc.
