February 1, 2025 • 25 mins
Journey of Faith: Father James Brzezinski's Pilgrimage and Organ Building In this special episode, join us as we dive into a captivating conversation with Father James Brzezinski, an organist and organ builder. Explore his inspiring journey from Nashota House to Santa Fe, his experiences with Palm Sunday liturgies, Good Friday pilgrimages to Chimayo, NM and his transformative Camino de Santiago. Father James shares his profound thoughts on life's pilgrimages toward Jesus, the power of communal worship, and the importance of church music. Additionally, get an insider's look into the intricate craft of organ building and the significance of the organ in church music. This episode is filled with heartfelt stories, spiritual insights, and a celebration of the beautiful connection between music and faith. Don't miss the special tour of the Grace Church's organ and bell tower!
00:00 Introduction and Weekly Update
00:26 Father James' Journey to Santa Fe
02:33 Pilgrimage Experiences
04:22 Community Outreach Initiatives
09:07 Building Church Organs!
14:43 The Importance of Worship and Fellowship 1
9:46 Exploring the Organ and Bell Tower
23:55 Concluding Prayers and Reflections
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:12):
Hey there, Diocese of the Rio Grande.
.999For this weekly update, I want to share with you more of my conversation with Father James Brzezinski, who, by the way, is an organist and an organ builder. 3 00:00:23,509.999 --> 00:00:25,220 You're not going to want to miss this episode.
Enjoy.
.999So you went from Neshota House to Santa Fe.
Yes.
So Florida, Neshota House.
(00:34):
Santa Fe.
Yes, so Father Ken agreed to take me on as a curate and I enjoyed two great years there with Father Ken and what a amazing parish the Father Hunn's gonna, Father Bishop Hunn's gonna know about this experience.
(00:54):
My first Palm Sunday there was amazing.
Yes.
Uh, where the Pres Presbytarian church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Episcopal church gathered in the square for the, uh, Palm Sunday liturgy.
And, um, I was really blessed in that it was, um, uh, holy faced a year to provide the gospel or so I got to proclaim the gospel and the square and, um, with the archbishop there and the, the elder of the Presbyterian church and, um.
(01:27):
And of course Bishop Vona was the bishop at the time and and um, so what a wonderful thing and you know As we processed back to our own parishes We we we invited people to come with us and they people that were there on vacation shopping and whatever Came to the Palm Sunday liturgy and what a better day Where we, where we crammed so many theological and, and spiritual things into one day, and I got to hear the passion, and, and, um, and yet we celebrated that with the wider church, and a great experience, and so I had a lot of, uh, fantastic, uh, experiences.
(02:05):
Oh, good Friday! We would, we would do a walk to Tramiel.
Yes, absolutely.
.999Yes, starting, stopping to say the Stations of the Cross on the way.
And I actually got to, to celebrate Mass up at Tramiel.
And, uh, I did that twice. 20 00:02:24,529.999 --> 00:02:33,745 The first time, uh, We were on a bench like just there but this next year that we went they had built an outside altar That was covered and everything.
(02:33):
And so it was wonderful to have that pilgrimage experience and uh, you know, i'm thinking 30 or so parishioners did that and we walked the 11 miles and and uh, great experience and so we uh Uh had that I I need to speak of pilgrimage because I believe our life is a pilgrimage toward Jesus and towards the Toward the cross and so I didn't realize this until three years ago when I actually Did a, a Camino de Santiago.
(03:05):
I've always wanted to do that.
You actually do.
So I, I recommended one of my, uh, um, classmates, uh, tried to get a group of about 10 of us, and it ended up being the two of us.
And so we walked from feral Spain south to, uh, Compostela to Santiago, 77 miles in seven days.
(03:27):
And, um.
It was a great, uh, spiritual experience and it was very extreme physical experience to me.
Um, But that brought to light that even sunday morning to church Is a pilgrimage. 29 00:03:43,99.999 --> 00:04:01,315 Yes, it is And so i'm encouraging people to take the pilgrimages that god puts in our lives And so chamayo was one of those, uh, I did my pre ordination Uh, retreat at Christ in the Desert in, uh, Abiquiu, um, which was very Benedictine.
(04:01):
Now, they did the hours and everything, so of course, I was right at home. 31 00:04:05,154.999 --> 00:04:12,435 I, I, I did not mind getting up at three o'clock in the morning to say prayers with, uh, with, uh, my brothers and sisters. 32 00:04:12,444.999 --> 00:04:20,175 And, uh, and so we, about pilgrimage, um, uh, here I made a pilgrimage back to the Rio Grande.
What a great thing.
(04:22):
I'm here at, at Grace Church, and this church is full of grace and, uh, we're, we're about sharing God's grace with the world around us, and I'm very heartened that, that there have been a couple, uh, um, parishioner, uh, or, um, started, uh, outreaches one to, uh, a summer outreach to the, the or, uh, the people, the children that have been adopted in the area.
(04:47):
We're providing Christmas for one, one child this year.
We're hoping to do 10 next year, so she will the general church, so it's really exciting.
.9995And then also, uh, another per a parishioner started a collection at her place of work for the homeless, you know, necessities, personal items and things like that. 38 00:05:07,524.9995 --> 00:05:09,055 And I said, you know, we can.
(05:09):
We can help here too with that.
And so we put out boxes for a few weeks and, uh, um, uh, Tommy put together 30 tote bags with necessities for the homeless.
.999And we went to a place that, uh, I've found out, uh, that other local churches are providing for the homeless, a meal on Saturday mornings, uh, at this park. 42 00:05:31,919.999 --> 00:05:34,759.999 And, uh, they had five, eight foot tables.
(05:35):
of Thanksgiving dinner for them, and then another church at the same day had about 30 or 40 boxes of pizza.
.999And, uh, and so it was a really great gathering and they, uh, they, they welcomed us, um, and said, it's so good another church is joining us.
.999And I said, you can count on us.
And, uh, so we're going to make that a permanent collection here at Grace Church that, uh, when we think we have enough for another day.
(06:01):
We won't just do, uh, Christmas and Easter.
We're going to see if, and Thanksgiving, we'll see if there's other times of year where we could offer that, and so.
People are hungry at other times, too. 50 00:06:10,629.999 --> 00:06:19,929.999 They are, and, and they, they may be hungry, but they also have other personal needs, and so we'd like to, since the other churches are doing really great with the food.
Why don't we expand into this other area? And so we're gonna make that a little outreach and I'd done this at my last parish too.
(06:28):
.999Um, and uh, It's really great because you can bring one little item in and when the whole church is doing it It it adds up. 53 00:06:36,554.999 --> 00:06:37,355 It fills up the bags. 54 00:06:37,364.999 --> 00:06:50,110 It's exponential, you know, and and it's uh, The nature of giving is exponent you give and more is given and um And, uh, and so that's part of our life here.
(06:50):
.999Um, is our outreach been here about six weeks, seven weeks, seven weeks, seven weeks.
And, uh, uh, and, uh, and so, um, we're, we're available for pastoral ministry.
I have a number of people that are coming for spiritual direction and seeking baptism and confirmation and a lot of young guys.
(07:11):
That just wanted to grow closer to the Lord.
And, um, we are blessed.
We have two people interested in ordination and what a, what a great gift to a priest to have people that are, are that tuned in.
And, um, uh, we, we, we like all people, but it's really fun when you can encourage someone that's really seeking a deeper walk, um, with the Lord.
(07:36):
And, um, so we will support them and encourage them along their journey.
I still have a lot of, uh, walking around town.
Uh, this is a much bigger town than I, uh, came from.
Uh, a town of 4, 100 people, so I'm nine times, uh, larger now.
And so, I think, good! A lot, a lot of work to do.
(07:59):
And, uh, and so I'm already feeling that, that wonderful, uh, you know, tiredness that comes when you're doing the things you need to be doing.
Uh, feeling settled in.
Uh, my wife Nancy's loving it here too and people are excited.
They're Oh, your wife is really involved in the church, and she is an organist, and she is fulfilling that, uh, that, uh, that ministry as well, but she gets involved in everything, and so, so we've, uh, we've been together many, many years, and, um, the Lord brought us together, and he keeps us together, and we, we are a ministry team, and, uh, Uh, she has, uh, been full time organist choir master at two of our previous parishes.
(08:44):
So she does have some skills and a lot of experience.
And so, she's so wonderful.
.999And well, and you have some organ background too.
.999I, I actually, uh, through the Men and Boy Choir experience as a child, I ended up taking piano and studied organ and I, I actually studied organ.
at the college level, uh, and choral conducting and music education for two and a half years.
(09:06):
.999And and then I segued into a new career called organ building. 77 00:09:12,219.999 --> 00:09:14,879.9995 So I actually apprenticed as a pipe organ builder. 78 00:09:14,879.9995 --> 00:09:34,610 And so I very intimately, uh, connected with the insides of that instrument that you see, uh, you know, you only see a few pipes usually, and uh, but I've worked on the wood parts, the uh, and, and the electronics and the mechanical things of it, but my specialty was building the metal organ pipes. 79 00:09:34,639.999 --> 00:09:55,779.999 And so, and you were telling me last night about I mean, I, I have a son who's a metal worker, so I know a little bit about that, and I'm a bicycle, I'm a cyclist, so I know about tubes to create bicycles, but, and so I asked you yesterday, does the, does the, you know, does the tube, what, what's the metal, and does it come like in different stock sizes, and you said, oh no.
(09:56):
Everyone is individually made and sized in order to create the correct pitch, as well as the correct tone.
The shapes change the tone.
.999You can have a cylinder, or you can have a cylinder with a cap on top.
.999You can have a cylinder with a cap on top that has a chimney, another smaller tube coming out of it. 84 00:10:16,614.999 --> 00:10:23,285 You can also have, and I did not build these, I did repair them, but there are reed pipes that actually have a reed.
(10:23):
Like a clarinet or a bassoon reed, it's made out of metal, so it would last and didn't require moisture in order to work.
But, um, and it actually vibrated and it sounds a lot like, uh, trumpets or, or clarinets.
They're actually clarinet stops and crumb horn stops and things based after ancient sounds.
(10:44):
And, um, and so you take all these raw materials and you create something that ends up glorifying God.
So the detail about the stu, the, the, the tubes, the pipes they're made out of primarily lead 10 alloys.
Now we do use zinc, copper, and brass.
Um, but those are for very specific needs, but most of them are lead 10 alloys, which we, we have ways to calculate now with computers, the dimensions that we need and, and, um, we actually hand roll those around, um, drill rod, which is, uh, you know.
(11:17):
The form and we actually have to beat it into submission with a maple, uh, uh, flat piece of wood that and and so it's very physical.
I, I probably have a lot of repetitive motion problems with my arms and things like that.
.999But, uh, it was so much fun and it was physical and it was mechanical. 95 00:11:35,604.999 --> 00:11:52,890 It was Um, I worked in the metric system, so I used to be able to, you know, really identify things and, and you're dealing with metals from, um, five, um, thousands of an inch thick to some of them were a quarter of an inch thick for the, the biggest ones that I made.
(11:53):
Wow.
Um, but there are even better, larger, the 32 foot pipes, I, I don't know the dimensions.
I'd never made them those.
A quarter of an inch thick.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's, that's a lot of metal.
Yeah.
.9995And so that would be for a 16 foot long pipe, and um, and pipes come as small as the pen in your pocket, or I've been inside of 32 foot organ pipes, uh, when I worked on the organ for Robert Shuler's Crystal Cathedral, actually had to get inside and, and do, screw parts together and things like that, and um, and so, uh, The organ is known as the king of instruments and it surely, uh, uh, in so many ways, size, complexity, um, pipe organs were probably the first computers. 105 00:12:37,569.9995 --> 00:12:38,830 They were a mechanical.
(12:39):
They were all mechanical but then the wiring I remember taking hours and hours of wire one wire for each of the 61 pipes and a stop and and we use diodes and all kinds of things and then eventually circuit boards came into it and and um, But yet here at grace church.
We have a gabriel ney Organ built in 1974, and it's a tracker instrument.
(13:02):
So, the only electronic part of it is the blower.
So there's a mechanical blower rather than having someone So I don't have to go down there and Right, and hand pump the organ.
.999And of course we have a couple lights as well.
Um, but the rest of it, it's a mechanical connection between the, the key and the, uh, the wind chest that allows the wind Under pressure to go into each pipe and that's what they mean when they say tracker. 112 00:13:28,794.999 --> 00:13:29,194.999 Yes.
(13:29):
It means it's a it's a mechanical connection Um our bigger churches, uh, they have uh, electro pneumatic organs or direct electric And don't get me into any of these details Because you'll be here all week, but, uh, but, uh, uh, please know it was quite a craft thing.
(13:49):
You, you, you don't go to organ building school.
You apprentice with someone and you learn from different, um, craftsmen along the way.
.999And, um, uh, same way it was done hundreds of years ago. 117 00:14:00,224.999 --> 00:14:04,175 And, um, and so I, I enjoyed that career for 13 years.
And, um, uh, it's, uh, then that's how I met Nancy was through the organ, organ building, uh, business we both ended up working for.
(14:13):
.9995And um, yeah, so a delightful chapter in my life and um, so I have a great appreciation for church music because I participated and then of course involved with the organs and um, wow, just uh Exciting you're bringing up. 120 00:14:29,799.9995 --> 00:14:33,290 So so many great memories that get us to grace church.
(14:33):
And so we have a great vision for The music of the church we have people that are active and really involved in that Uh, who knows there may be a choir back again.
We'll we'll have to see Um how that goes As we draw people to the lord Well, we're gonna let them know that praising the lord is an important part of our ministry just as feeding the poor and caring for for for the homeless, um, and that's a piece that I always want to emphasize sometimes folks I think Treat church as kind of, you know, it's one of the things I do, one of the organizations I'm a part of.
(15:08):
It does good work, but like on Sunday, if I, if I miss a Sunday here or there, it's not a big deal. 124 00:15:14,849.999 --> 00:15:20,090 I really want to emphasize, we need you here to praise God with us. 125 00:15:20,99.999 --> 00:15:25,750 I mean, the, the, you, we need your labor, we need, of, of coming.
The pilgrimage to come to the sacred space to participate in the glorifying of God and to lift your prayers The prayers of your heart to God now I know that you know If you're physically unable to go to church that you know That's you can say your prayers in the fields like we talked about before with San Ysidro You can hear that bell and pray but coming to church on a regular basis Is not the same thing as like having a season ticket to a ballpark and missing a game Like you're playing in the game like this is it is your worship that that we are here to help Facilitate with the worship of the people of God, but it's the people of God that are doing the worship and we need you That is so, so important.
(16:07):
And please understand the need.
We need you to come and worship God because that's why you were created. 129 00:16:15,349.999 --> 00:16:20,750 We are all created for one purpose and that's for the worship of God and to live in his presence.
And so we don't need you to be part of the vestry.
We don't need you to be in the choir.
.999We don't need you to clean, you know the kitchen on Sundays.
(16:30):
We need you to participate and know that we get more out of you being present than Than anything it's uh, it's so important to have that fellowship.
Oh, well I can go uh, Into the desert and look at those beautiful skies and everything and i'm really close to god and that may be true But the fact is that without the, the carpet, without the connection with other believers, um, you're, you're missing a dimension that's really important to God and to, to each other, that we need to have that fellowship.
(17:05):
They devoted themselves to the Apostles teaching, the breaking of bread, the prayers.
You know, and, and so, uh, that's why we need you because God desires to have you in his presence and we do that too. 137 00:17:18,519.999 --> 00:17:28,580 That's our, that's our prayer that, uh, and, you know, you say, well, I didn't feel good or, you know, life was tough or, or whatever I've found in my life.
(17:29):
That if I keep up and it's a negative word, but it's a it's a good word my discipline of going to church even when I don't feel like it or when i'm hurting or You know, I I have an another desire that if I keep that habitus Of being in god's presence.
I'm always honored and it's it's amazing How this scripture you will find and you can test me on this and you can call me and say it doesn't work But when you have those needs God's Word from the pre planned lectionary is going to speak directly into your life.
(18:06):
.999There will be a piece in there that's going to say, you'll be able to say, this is why I needed to be in the presence of God in Grace Church and All Saints and, and, and Holy Faith or wherever you, you have a good community.
And so, know that also, I can't intercede for you if I don't know what your need is.
(18:27):
And, um, your presence.
Maybe the only, only, um, reference that I need, that, that you're there, and yes.
Gloria needs needs some prayer and it can be thank you know prayer I I was just teaching a parishioner about the seven types of prayer We have to realize that that is our purpose that god wants us to worship So that we do all those types of prayer praise and thanksgiving adoration oblation, um, uh, uh penance penance and um, you know, we really Those things all speak into our lives and we then can Can take our expressions of our lives and present them to God in a way that he'll understand who we are So that he can bless us and pour his grace out Into our lives where we need where exactly we need that grace that undeserved gift of god comes when we connect with each other and with the lord and being in his presence and the more we Step into that presence the more it permeates all the rest of our lives.
(19:37):
.999And so that it's something about the habitus, the, the coming on a regular basis does change everything else. 146 00:19:46,399.999 --> 00:19:52,39.999 All right, we're going to go, let's go see the, the organ and the bell tower.
(20:23):
So you just turned on the blower.
Is that right? Yes.
No, I've confessed that I have not sat down and practiced as I Should but I will give you a little a little idea.
So those are the stops, right? These are stops.
(20:43):
So each one of these represents a set a set of pipes that there's one Pipe for each note on the keyboard 61 pipes.
And so each one of these a good deck that's at a certain pitch level and then There's a pipe of a similar shape that creates a like tone, um, and so you can see, and then you can add different stops to it, and then you combine them together, and you And try to play a, uh, service, some service music.
(21:37):
Here we go.
.9See, you do have to practice it.
It's terrible that I used a familiar one.
But, but, uh, so, uh, You know, uh, and you can combine the different sounds and play on And so you can combine different sounds and combinations of stops. 157 00:22:16,229.999 --> 00:22:16,809.999 I love it. 158 00:22:16,859.999 --> 00:22:17,450 I love it.
(22:17):
Look at that.
.999And so each one of these pipes is hand rolled and then soldered on the back. 161 00:22:23,759.999 --> 00:22:23,969.999 Yeah.
Yes. 163 00:22:24,160.1 --> 00:22:24,649.9 Yes.
Wow, all right.
Let's look at the bell tower.
(22:39):
This is called the passion chapel.
That was the bell tower.
We do have Wednesday mass here now again.
We've returned to that practice.
I love this altar piece. 171 00:22:52,769.999 --> 00:23:07,590 Some of the stations of the cross are in here as you can see And yet there's the Last Supper and, um, of course, beautiful and great New Mexico style it's in the tabla style.
(23:07):
It's wonderful.
.999And then, uh, of course, our Lady of Walsingham in Southwestern style, um, which I find quite.
Quite interesting.
(23:28):
And so we have two bells in our tower, and I'm going to ring the Angelus, uh, which will incorporate both, both bells. 176 00:23:55,99.999 --> 00:23:55,850 Behold the hymn. 177 00:23:59,399.999 --> 00:24:00,814.9 Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
(24:01):
Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among them.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
.999Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
.999Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now at the hour. 183 00:24:23,584.999 --> 00:24:29,900 Pray for us all, that we may be made worthy of the promises Let us pray.
(24:30):
.999We beseech Thee, O Lord, pour Thy grace into our hearts, that as we have known the incarnation of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, by the message of an angel, so by His cross and passion we may be brought unto the glory of His resurrection.
Through the same Christ, our Lord.
Amen. 187 00:24:46,185.1 --> 00:25:28,710 Um, Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, Thank you for that.
(25:28):
Oh, that's wonderful.
And so we've called our community to worship through the ringing of our bells, and might they know the presence of Christ is in Carlsbad.
Hey there, Diocese of the Rio Grande.
.999For this weekly update, I want to share with you more of my conversation with Father James Brzezinski, who, by the way, is an organist and an organ builder. 3 00:00:23,509.999 --> 00:00:25,220 You're not going to want to miss this episode.
Enjoy.
.999So you went from Neshota House to Santa Fe.
Yes.
So Florida, Neshota House.
(00:34):
Santa Fe.
Yes, so Father Ken agreed to take me on as a curate and I enjoyed two great years there with Father Ken and what a amazing parish the Father Hunn's gonna, Father Bishop Hunn's gonna know about this experience.
(00:54):
My first Palm Sunday there was amazing.
Yes.
Uh, where the Pres Presbytarian church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Episcopal church gathered in the square for the, uh, Palm Sunday liturgy.
And, um, I was really blessed in that it was, um, uh, holy faced a year to provide the gospel or so I got to proclaim the gospel and the square and, um, with the archbishop there and the, the elder of the Presbyterian church and, um.
(01:27):
And of course Bishop Vona was the bishop at the time and and um, so what a wonderful thing and you know As we processed back to our own parishes We we we invited people to come with us and they people that were there on vacation shopping and whatever Came to the Palm Sunday liturgy and what a better day Where we, where we crammed so many theological and, and spiritual things into one day, and I got to hear the passion, and, and, um, and yet we celebrated that with the wider church, and a great experience, and so I had a lot of, uh, fantastic, uh, experiences.
(02:05):
Oh, good Friday! We would, we would do a walk to Tramiel.
Yes, absolutely.
.999Yes, starting, stopping to say the Stations of the Cross on the way.
And I actually got to, to celebrate Mass up at Tramiel.
And, uh, I did that twice. 20 00:02:24,529.999 --> 00:02:33,745 The first time, uh, We were on a bench like just there but this next year that we went they had built an outside altar That was covered and everything.
(02:33):
And so it was wonderful to have that pilgrimage experience and uh, you know, i'm thinking 30 or so parishioners did that and we walked the 11 miles and and uh, great experience and so we uh Uh had that I I need to speak of pilgrimage because I believe our life is a pilgrimage toward Jesus and towards the Toward the cross and so I didn't realize this until three years ago when I actually Did a, a Camino de Santiago.
(03:05):
I've always wanted to do that.
You actually do.
So I, I recommended one of my, uh, um, classmates, uh, tried to get a group of about 10 of us, and it ended up being the two of us.
And so we walked from feral Spain south to, uh, Compostela to Santiago, 77 miles in seven days.
(03:27):
And, um.
It was a great, uh, spiritual experience and it was very extreme physical experience to me.
Um, But that brought to light that even sunday morning to church Is a pilgrimage. 29 00:03:43,99.999 --> 00:04:01,315 Yes, it is And so i'm encouraging people to take the pilgrimages that god puts in our lives And so chamayo was one of those, uh, I did my pre ordination Uh, retreat at Christ in the Desert in, uh, Abiquiu, um, which was very Benedictine.
(04:01):
Now, they did the hours and everything, so of course, I was right at home. 31 00:04:05,154.999 --> 00:04:12,435 I, I, I did not mind getting up at three o'clock in the morning to say prayers with, uh, with, uh, my brothers and sisters. 32 00:04:12,444.999 --> 00:04:20,175 And, uh, and so we, about pilgrimage, um, uh, here I made a pilgrimage back to the Rio Grande.
What a great thing.
(04:22):
I'm here at, at Grace Church, and this church is full of grace and, uh, we're, we're about sharing God's grace with the world around us, and I'm very heartened that, that there have been a couple, uh, um, parishioner, uh, or, um, started, uh, outreaches one to, uh, a summer outreach to the, the or, uh, the people, the children that have been adopted in the area.
(04:47):
We're providing Christmas for one, one child this year.
We're hoping to do 10 next year, so she will the general church, so it's really exciting.
.9995And then also, uh, another per a parishioner started a collection at her place of work for the homeless, you know, necessities, personal items and things like that. 38 00:05:07,524.9995 --> 00:05:09,055 And I said, you know, we can.
(05:09):
We can help here too with that.
And so we put out boxes for a few weeks and, uh, um, uh, Tommy put together 30 tote bags with necessities for the homeless.
.999And we went to a place that, uh, I've found out, uh, that other local churches are providing for the homeless, a meal on Saturday mornings, uh, at this park. 42 00:05:31,919.999 --> 00:05:34,759.999 And, uh, they had five, eight foot tables.
(05:35):
of Thanksgiving dinner for them, and then another church at the same day had about 30 or 40 boxes of pizza.
.999And, uh, and so it was a really great gathering and they, uh, they, they welcomed us, um, and said, it's so good another church is joining us.
.999And I said, you can count on us.
And, uh, so we're going to make that a permanent collection here at Grace Church that, uh, when we think we have enough for another day.
(06:01):
We won't just do, uh, Christmas and Easter.
We're going to see if, and Thanksgiving, we'll see if there's other times of year where we could offer that, and so.
People are hungry at other times, too. 50 00:06:10,629.999 --> 00:06:19,929.999 They are, and, and they, they may be hungry, but they also have other personal needs, and so we'd like to, since the other churches are doing really great with the food.
Why don't we expand into this other area? And so we're gonna make that a little outreach and I'd done this at my last parish too.
(06:28):
.999Um, and uh, It's really great because you can bring one little item in and when the whole church is doing it It it adds up. 53 00:06:36,554.999 --> 00:06:37,355 It fills up the bags. 54 00:06:37,364.999 --> 00:06:50,110 It's exponential, you know, and and it's uh, The nature of giving is exponent you give and more is given and um And, uh, and so that's part of our life here.
(06:50):
.999Um, is our outreach been here about six weeks, seven weeks, seven weeks, seven weeks.
And, uh, uh, and, uh, and so, um, we're, we're available for pastoral ministry.
I have a number of people that are coming for spiritual direction and seeking baptism and confirmation and a lot of young guys.
(07:11):
That just wanted to grow closer to the Lord.
And, um, we are blessed.
We have two people interested in ordination and what a, what a great gift to a priest to have people that are, are that tuned in.
And, um, uh, we, we, we like all people, but it's really fun when you can encourage someone that's really seeking a deeper walk, um, with the Lord.
(07:36):
And, um, so we will support them and encourage them along their journey.
I still have a lot of, uh, walking around town.
Uh, this is a much bigger town than I, uh, came from.
Uh, a town of 4, 100 people, so I'm nine times, uh, larger now.
And so, I think, good! A lot, a lot of work to do.
(07:59):
And, uh, and so I'm already feeling that, that wonderful, uh, you know, tiredness that comes when you're doing the things you need to be doing.
Uh, feeling settled in.
Uh, my wife Nancy's loving it here too and people are excited.
They're Oh, your wife is really involved in the church, and she is an organist, and she is fulfilling that, uh, that, uh, that ministry as well, but she gets involved in everything, and so, so we've, uh, we've been together many, many years, and, um, the Lord brought us together, and he keeps us together, and we, we are a ministry team, and, uh, Uh, she has, uh, been full time organist choir master at two of our previous parishes.
(08:44):
So she does have some skills and a lot of experience.
And so, she's so wonderful.
.999And well, and you have some organ background too.
.999I, I actually, uh, through the Men and Boy Choir experience as a child, I ended up taking piano and studied organ and I, I actually studied organ.
at the college level, uh, and choral conducting and music education for two and a half years.
(09:06):
.999And and then I segued into a new career called organ building. 77 00:09:12,219.999 --> 00:09:14,879.9995 So I actually apprenticed as a pipe organ builder. 78 00:09:14,879.9995 --> 00:09:34,610 And so I very intimately, uh, connected with the insides of that instrument that you see, uh, you know, you only see a few pipes usually, and uh, but I've worked on the wood parts, the uh, and, and the electronics and the mechanical things of it, but my specialty was building the metal organ pipes. 79 00:09:34,639.999 --> 00:09:55,779.999 And so, and you were telling me last night about I mean, I, I have a son who's a metal worker, so I know a little bit about that, and I'm a bicycle, I'm a cyclist, so I know about tubes to create bicycles, but, and so I asked you yesterday, does the, does the, you know, does the tube, what, what's the metal, and does it come like in different stock sizes, and you said, oh no.
(09:56):
Everyone is individually made and sized in order to create the correct pitch, as well as the correct tone.
The shapes change the tone.
.999You can have a cylinder, or you can have a cylinder with a cap on top.
.999You can have a cylinder with a cap on top that has a chimney, another smaller tube coming out of it. 84 00:10:16,614.999 --> 00:10:23,285 You can also have, and I did not build these, I did repair them, but there are reed pipes that actually have a reed.
(10:23):
Like a clarinet or a bassoon reed, it's made out of metal, so it would last and didn't require moisture in order to work.
But, um, and it actually vibrated and it sounds a lot like, uh, trumpets or, or clarinets.
They're actually clarinet stops and crumb horn stops and things based after ancient sounds.
(10:44):
And, um, and so you take all these raw materials and you create something that ends up glorifying God.
So the detail about the stu, the, the, the tubes, the pipes they're made out of primarily lead 10 alloys.
Now we do use zinc, copper, and brass.
Um, but those are for very specific needs, but most of them are lead 10 alloys, which we, we have ways to calculate now with computers, the dimensions that we need and, and, um, we actually hand roll those around, um, drill rod, which is, uh, you know.
(11:17):
The form and we actually have to beat it into submission with a maple, uh, uh, flat piece of wood that and and so it's very physical.
I, I probably have a lot of repetitive motion problems with my arms and things like that.
.999But, uh, it was so much fun and it was physical and it was mechanical. 95 00:11:35,604.999 --> 00:11:52,890 It was Um, I worked in the metric system, so I used to be able to, you know, really identify things and, and you're dealing with metals from, um, five, um, thousands of an inch thick to some of them were a quarter of an inch thick for the, the biggest ones that I made.
(11:53):
Wow.
Um, but there are even better, larger, the 32 foot pipes, I, I don't know the dimensions.
I'd never made them those.
A quarter of an inch thick.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's, that's a lot of metal.
Yeah.
.9995And so that would be for a 16 foot long pipe, and um, and pipes come as small as the pen in your pocket, or I've been inside of 32 foot organ pipes, uh, when I worked on the organ for Robert Shuler's Crystal Cathedral, actually had to get inside and, and do, screw parts together and things like that, and um, and so, uh, The organ is known as the king of instruments and it surely, uh, uh, in so many ways, size, complexity, um, pipe organs were probably the first computers. 105 00:12:37,569.9995 --> 00:12:38,830 They were a mechanical.
(12:39):
They were all mechanical but then the wiring I remember taking hours and hours of wire one wire for each of the 61 pipes and a stop and and we use diodes and all kinds of things and then eventually circuit boards came into it and and um, But yet here at grace church.
We have a gabriel ney Organ built in 1974, and it's a tracker instrument.
(13:02):
So, the only electronic part of it is the blower.
So there's a mechanical blower rather than having someone So I don't have to go down there and Right, and hand pump the organ.
.999And of course we have a couple lights as well.
Um, but the rest of it, it's a mechanical connection between the, the key and the, uh, the wind chest that allows the wind Under pressure to go into each pipe and that's what they mean when they say tracker. 112 00:13:28,794.999 --> 00:13:29,194.999 Yes.
(13:29):
It means it's a it's a mechanical connection Um our bigger churches, uh, they have uh, electro pneumatic organs or direct electric And don't get me into any of these details Because you'll be here all week, but, uh, but, uh, uh, please know it was quite a craft thing.
(13:49):
You, you, you don't go to organ building school.
You apprentice with someone and you learn from different, um, craftsmen along the way.
.999And, um, uh, same way it was done hundreds of years ago. 117 00:14:00,224.999 --> 00:14:04,175 And, um, and so I, I enjoyed that career for 13 years.
And, um, uh, it's, uh, then that's how I met Nancy was through the organ, organ building, uh, business we both ended up working for.
(14:13):
.9995And um, yeah, so a delightful chapter in my life and um, so I have a great appreciation for church music because I participated and then of course involved with the organs and um, wow, just uh Exciting you're bringing up. 120 00:14:29,799.9995 --> 00:14:33,290 So so many great memories that get us to grace church.
(14:33):
And so we have a great vision for The music of the church we have people that are active and really involved in that Uh, who knows there may be a choir back again.
We'll we'll have to see Um how that goes As we draw people to the lord Well, we're gonna let them know that praising the lord is an important part of our ministry just as feeding the poor and caring for for for the homeless, um, and that's a piece that I always want to emphasize sometimes folks I think Treat church as kind of, you know, it's one of the things I do, one of the organizations I'm a part of.
(15:08):
It does good work, but like on Sunday, if I, if I miss a Sunday here or there, it's not a big deal. 124 00:15:14,849.999 --> 00:15:20,090 I really want to emphasize, we need you here to praise God with us. 125 00:15:20,99.999 --> 00:15:25,750 I mean, the, the, you, we need your labor, we need, of, of coming.
The pilgrimage to come to the sacred space to participate in the glorifying of God and to lift your prayers The prayers of your heart to God now I know that you know If you're physically unable to go to church that you know That's you can say your prayers in the fields like we talked about before with San Ysidro You can hear that bell and pray but coming to church on a regular basis Is not the same thing as like having a season ticket to a ballpark and missing a game Like you're playing in the game like this is it is your worship that that we are here to help Facilitate with the worship of the people of God, but it's the people of God that are doing the worship and we need you That is so, so important.
(16:07):
And please understand the need.
We need you to come and worship God because that's why you were created. 129 00:16:15,349.999 --> 00:16:20,750 We are all created for one purpose and that's for the worship of God and to live in his presence.
And so we don't need you to be part of the vestry.
We don't need you to be in the choir.
.999We don't need you to clean, you know the kitchen on Sundays.
(16:30):
We need you to participate and know that we get more out of you being present than Than anything it's uh, it's so important to have that fellowship.
Oh, well I can go uh, Into the desert and look at those beautiful skies and everything and i'm really close to god and that may be true But the fact is that without the, the carpet, without the connection with other believers, um, you're, you're missing a dimension that's really important to God and to, to each other, that we need to have that fellowship.
(17:05):
They devoted themselves to the Apostles teaching, the breaking of bread, the prayers.
You know, and, and so, uh, that's why we need you because God desires to have you in his presence and we do that too. 137 00:17:18,519.999 --> 00:17:28,580 That's our, that's our prayer that, uh, and, you know, you say, well, I didn't feel good or, you know, life was tough or, or whatever I've found in my life.
(17:29):
That if I keep up and it's a negative word, but it's a it's a good word my discipline of going to church even when I don't feel like it or when i'm hurting or You know, I I have an another desire that if I keep that habitus Of being in god's presence.
I'm always honored and it's it's amazing How this scripture you will find and you can test me on this and you can call me and say it doesn't work But when you have those needs God's Word from the pre planned lectionary is going to speak directly into your life.
(18:06):
.999There will be a piece in there that's going to say, you'll be able to say, this is why I needed to be in the presence of God in Grace Church and All Saints and, and, and Holy Faith or wherever you, you have a good community.
And so, know that also, I can't intercede for you if I don't know what your need is.
(18:27):
And, um, your presence.
Maybe the only, only, um, reference that I need, that, that you're there, and yes.
Gloria needs needs some prayer and it can be thank you know prayer I I was just teaching a parishioner about the seven types of prayer We have to realize that that is our purpose that god wants us to worship So that we do all those types of prayer praise and thanksgiving adoration oblation, um, uh, uh penance penance and um, you know, we really Those things all speak into our lives and we then can Can take our expressions of our lives and present them to God in a way that he'll understand who we are So that he can bless us and pour his grace out Into our lives where we need where exactly we need that grace that undeserved gift of god comes when we connect with each other and with the lord and being in his presence and the more we Step into that presence the more it permeates all the rest of our lives.
(19:37):
.999And so that it's something about the habitus, the, the coming on a regular basis does change everything else. 146 00:19:46,399.999 --> 00:19:52,39.999 All right, we're going to go, let's go see the, the organ and the bell tower.
(20:23):
So you just turned on the blower.
Is that right? Yes.
No, I've confessed that I have not sat down and practiced as I Should but I will give you a little a little idea.
So those are the stops, right? These are stops.
(20:43):
So each one of these represents a set a set of pipes that there's one Pipe for each note on the keyboard 61 pipes.
And so each one of these a good deck that's at a certain pitch level and then There's a pipe of a similar shape that creates a like tone, um, and so you can see, and then you can add different stops to it, and then you combine them together, and you And try to play a, uh, service, some service music.
(21:37):
Here we go.
.9See, you do have to practice it.
It's terrible that I used a familiar one.
But, but, uh, so, uh, You know, uh, and you can combine the different sounds and play on And so you can combine different sounds and combinations of stops. 157 00:22:16,229.999 --> 00:22:16,809.999 I love it. 158 00:22:16,859.999 --> 00:22:17,450 I love it.
(22:17):
Look at that.
.999And so each one of these pipes is hand rolled and then soldered on the back. 161 00:22:23,759.999 --> 00:22:23,969.999 Yeah.
Yes. 163 00:22:24,160.1 --> 00:22:24,649.9 Yes.
Wow, all right.
Let's look at the bell tower.
(22:39):
This is called the passion chapel.
That was the bell tower.
We do have Wednesday mass here now again.
We've returned to that practice.
I love this altar piece. 171 00:22:52,769.999 --> 00:23:07,590 Some of the stations of the cross are in here as you can see And yet there's the Last Supper and, um, of course, beautiful and great New Mexico style it's in the tabla style.
(23:07):
It's wonderful.
.999And then, uh, of course, our Lady of Walsingham in Southwestern style, um, which I find quite.
Quite interesting.
(23:28):
And so we have two bells in our tower, and I'm going to ring the Angelus, uh, which will incorporate both, both bells. 176 00:23:55,99.999 --> 00:23:55,850 Behold the hymn. 177 00:23:59,399.999 --> 00:24:00,814.9 Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
(24:01):
Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among them.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
.999Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
.999Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now at the hour. 183 00:24:23,584.999 --> 00:24:29,900 Pray for us all, that we may be made worthy of the promises Let us pray.
(24:30):
.999We beseech Thee, O Lord, pour Thy grace into our hearts, that as we have known the incarnation of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, by the message of an angel, so by His cross and passion we may be brought unto the glory of His resurrection.
Through the same Christ, our Lord.
Amen. 187 00:24:46,185.1 --> 00:25:28,710 Um, Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, Thank you for that.
(25:28):
Oh, that's wonderful.
And so we've called our community to worship through the ringing of our bells, and might they know the presence of Christ is in Carlsbad.
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