The 100th anniversary of the Casavant pipe organ at Covenant United Methodist Church in Lancaster will be celebrated on Sunday, October 25, 2026. The acclaimed concert organist Gordon Turk will present a recital and hymn sing at 3:00 P.M. to showcase the organ and to praise the Lord for its continuing use in Covenant’s sanctuary. Dr. Turk is known by many in the area as the resident summer organist at Ocean Grove Campmeeting in New Jersey, although he has performed throughout the States and in Europe and Asia and currently serves as the Organist and Choirmaster of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Wayne, Pennsylvania. Free tickets can be reserved online with Eventbrite at bit.ly/CovUMC or by calling the church office at 717-393-1561.  At the concert a freewill offering will be received to help support repair and restoration work on the organ. A reception will follow the concert in Bethany Hall, and then Dr. Turk will share about the organ and its features at a 5:30 P.M. session for those who register with a $25 fee.                                                                                                                                         

In 1926 the Casavant pipe organ was donated to what was then Covenant United Brethren in Christ Church by members Mr. and Mrs. Jack Straub in memory of her parents Mr. and Mrs. George Eckert, who were faithful charter members of Covenant. The organ was installed that year in the newly built church on the corner of West Orange and North Mulberry Streets and was dedicated after the congregation had moved from their original location since 1884 on the other side of Orange Street.

The pipe organ was built by the Casavant Brothers of Quebec, Canada. It has three manuals and 37 original ranks and is one of only eleven instruments of similar style and size built in 1926 that remain totally intact in their original locations. Brunner & Associates of Silver Spring has been working on repairing and partially restoring the organ for its anniversary celebration. The Casavant Organ Fund was created a year ago with the goal of $100,000 to support the work on this historic organ. The church is grateful for donations already received, taking the fund past the halfway mark, and hopes to reach the total goal by the end of the year. Contributions may be made online at www.elexiogiving.com/App/Giving/covlanc or sent to the church. 

During the past 100 years, Covenant’s Casavant organ has had only three church organists on staff: Mildred Huss Wissler until 1973, her student Emma “Dolly” Kepner until 2022, and then Larry Rappoldt to the present. The historic organ has provided beautiful music for church services, weddings, funerals, and recitals at Covenant Church throughout its history initially as United Brethren in Christ, then Evangelical United Brethren in 1946, and eventually United Methodist in 1968. May the organ continue to provide glory to God and inspire all who hear it for many more years to come!