Bishop John has blessed and dedicated the new organ at Pershore Abbey. The service of dedication came at the end of the parish’s ‘organ festival’ – a weekend full of concerts and activities to celebrate the new Ruffatti organ.
The project to install a new organ into the Abbey has been going on for many years and the instrument was finally delivered to the church in February having been delayed due to the pandemic, consequential material and component difficulties and shipping delays. It was made possible thanks to the efforts of the Friends of Pershore Abbey and individuals who donated towards the cost of individual pipes.
Since the completion of the installation in May, the organ has been going through a ‘settling down’ process to ensure the quality and pitch of the sound from each pipe. The festival weekend saw school children enjoying a workshop, a choral concert with the Gonville and Caius College Choir, Cambridge and an organ recital from Robert Quinney, Associate Professor in Music at Oxford. A festival Eucharist led by Bishop John took place on Sunday morning.
In his sermon, Bishop John said: “Music is a wonderful gift. Hardly anyone is not moved by music of one kind or another. The power of music and its importance can be found in the scripture and Christians have always sung songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. When you hear this glorious organ, remember that through Jesus it is opening the heavens to you. Through the physical notes played, we can discover something spiritual. I hope that you will enjoy the sound of this magnificent organ, but I also hope and pray that it will open your consciousness to the glory of our world which is dripping with the divine.”
