McConnell Pipe Organ Service
1993

I am the former Minister of Music & Worship Arts and this organ was replaced in 2018 by a Rodgers Infinity 361MV digital organ and antiphonal.

Information received online from Joshua Starnes on 2025-05-10

Updated by Joshua W. Starnes, who has heard or played the organ.

Updated by Joshua W. Starnes, who has heard or played the organ.

Altered and relocated existing organ.
Identified by Joshua W. Starnes, based on personal knowledge of the organ.

This organ was originally built in 1962 by Charles McManis of Kansas City, Kansas, his Opus 52, and installed in the War Memorial Chapel at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. St. John Lutheran Church of Roanoke, Virginia, purchased the instrument in 1989 from Church Organ Consultants of Lynchburg, VA. James (Jim) McConnell of McConnell Pipe Organ Service was engaged to refinish and rebuild the console, make extensive repairs to the chest and install the organ in the new church sanctuary in 1990. Realizing that the instrument was inadequate for the church's musical needs, McConnell devised a plan for additions and completion for the instrument, incorporating them into the console. The existing windchests were totally rebuilt with electric pipe valves, four complete ranks of pipes plus three octave extensions have been added, and a solid state switching relay system was installed in 1990. The organ suffered major water damage from a roof leak over the Swell division in 1993 and was repaired.