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Dear Friends,
As many of you are aware, the first pair of upper church doors has been repaired and refinished and re-hung, and, as many of you have seen firsthand, they look absolutely beautiful. Even more than looking beautiful, they lock and unlock without any struggle, effort, or commotion! If you have not seen the doors yourself, do take a walk to the front of the church to see them, or at the very least drive past them. The great job really hits home when you compare them to the set of untouched doors still hanging next to them. The difference is unbelievable!
The men who are doing this important job have already taken another pair to repair and refinish. They have stressed to me that the center set (i.e., the set that has already been completed) was by far the worst, since they literally had to take the doors apart and put them back together, almost like a jigsaw puzzle, in order to repair them. That is why it took several weeks to complete that pair. They have assured me that the other doors will not need that much work, so I am anticipating we will have all six doors refinished, repaired, and re-hung by the end of February. God is good! When this great team of men is finished with the upper church doors, they will begin the refinishing of the external doors of the lower church.
We are in the process of getting bids on the repair of the ceiling of our upper church sanctuary, as well as its repainting, which, along with the doors, is another project we will be able to complete because of your generosity in our Church of Saint Timothy Stewardship Restoration Appeal. I am so proud and happy to report to you that, as of this writing, we have collected over $65,000 from you, our generous parishioners and friends. Your love for our parish is so evident in many ways and at all times, but your exceptional generosity in this special appeal has really humbled me as your pastor. From the bottom of my heart, and on behalf of our present parish family and the generations who will come after us, I thank you. If you have not yet made your contribution or pledge to this important effort, I ask you to please do so. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me at the rectory.
Over the course of the past three weeks, we also had extensive work done on the pipe organ in our upper church. Last year, Anne Coneghen, our faithful music director, approached me about applying for a grant from the Partners for Sacred Places Program for Saving and Activating Philadelphia’s Historic Pipe Organs. Through Anne’s efforts, we applied for this $10,000 grant and received it. As Anne herself explains:
You may have noticed our pipe organ sounds different. For the past two weeks extensive work was done on the reservoirs of the organ.
Our pipe organ is a living, breathing musical instrument of over 1600 pipes. You may remember that in 2019, the motor or “heart” of the organ was cleaned and parts replaced. This time, the reservoirs were repaired. The reservoirs are the “lungs” of the organ, where air is stored. They were being held together with duct tape. The reservoirs have been completely re-leathered and cleaned. This has resulted in the pipes speaking more clearly and improved the tuning.
This organ work is yet another blessing, and I publically thank Anne, not only for this great effort on behalf of the preservation and upkeep of this valuable (and nowadays, rare) instrument, but for all she does to enhance the beauty of the sacred liturgy through her musical and liturgical expertise. Elsewhere in this bulletin, Anne herself explains this organ restoration project in more detail.
Looking ahead in this month of January: on Tuesday, January 26th, we will be celebrating the Feast of Saint Timothy, our patron, with a Solemn Mass at 8:30 A.M. in the upper church. All are invited to attend.
Know that you and those you love are daily remembered in my Mass and my prayers.
Love and prayers,
Father Olivere