A wonderful asset to the Music Ministry at Grace is Opus 3865, a 3-manual, 39 stop, 47-rank pipe organ, built by Casavant Frères of Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada. Grace Church received the organ on October 2, 2007. It arrived, unassembled, in hundreds of boxes and packing crates. Its 2,853 pipes, ranging in size from 20 feet to as small as a pencil, are fashioned from wood, “spotted metal,” or copper. The organ was built over 18 months, installation took 4 weeks, and the voicing lasted almost another 4 weeks.
The organ was played during worship services for the first time the weekend following Thanksgiving. Then Bishop of the Diocese of Atlanta, The Right Rev. J. Neil Alexander, was present at Grace Church on Sunday, January 20, 2008 at a service of Evensong and Dedication and Blessing. Finally, a Dedicatory Recital was performed by Dr. David Burton-Brown, Grace Church’s Director of Music at the time, on April 20, 2008.
Our bells, which are named Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, were cast in late January 2005 at the world–renowned Paccard Bell Foundry in Annecy, France and installed in our tower on April 19 that same year. They have been a wonderful addition to our church and community, marking the passing of each quarter hour, tolling a call to worship and for solemn occasions, and pealing for celebratory occasions.