1909Oklahoma Hinners Survivor Organ
Donation protected
Would you be willing to help us breathe life back into a piece of Oklahoma history? This Survivor Organ is the oldest organ original to the state of Oklahoma. Damaged in the Murrah Bombing, help us restore this piece of our heritage.
This beautiful, tough old organ was built in 1909 by the Hinners Organ Company out of Pekin, Illinois, for the old German Methodist Church on 8th Street in downtown Oklahoma City. This rugged organ was designed for a church on the prairie with no readily available service people to maintain it and it played beautifully until April 19, 1995 when it was damaged during the bombing.
Our congregation here at Trinity Lutheran Church in Norman was extended an offer this spring to purchase the organ for $5,000 from Skyline Urban Ministries before the Eighth Street United Methodist Church in downtown OKC was scheduled for demolishing in August. Fortunately, our organist got us in contact with the University of Oklahoma Organ Shop who gave us a rough quote of $90,000 to remove, store, restore, and install the organ in our church.
In August 2014, the Voter’s Assembly of Trinity Lutheran Church in Norman approved the purchase, restoration and installation and we began fundraising within our congregation. So far we have paid the OU Organ Shop to remove and store it at their site and we are waiting until the current restoration project they are working on is complete sometime this year. We still need $25,000 pay for the restoration and installation to bring this Survivor back to life. As of April 2015, we have signed the second contract exhibit with OU and our organ will begin restoration work next spring to be completed and installed in the spring of 2017!
Why do we want to restore the Survivor Organ and bring it back to life?
This organ is doubly important to us as a church: as Oklahomans, it is a part of our rich history from the early days of our state. As a traditional liturgical Lutheran congregation, we are preserving our traditions of worship that our forefathers passed down to us.
How will the Survivor Organ benefit the community as well?
It is our intention to make the Survivor Organ available to schedule for practicing and recitals during the week when it does not interfere with services. There are only a couple of pipe organs in the area and it should be able to be enjoyed by everyone. All people are welcome at Trinity Lutheran Church and it would be a joy for us to see public organ recitals held in our sanctuary!
Why would this project be worthy of your gift?
- This organ is the oldest original in Oklahoma, built in 1909, and will become a part of our old stone church, founded in 1901 in the heart of Norman on old Highway 77
- We are a traditional liturgical congregation: this beautiful Survivor Organ will become part of our traditional worship each Sunday, and we hope for least another 100 years to come!
- It's a survivor that deserves to play again; we are a tough and resilient people that refuse to stay down and this beautiful organ is another reminder of our Oklahoma character
Please consider supporting the restoration of our beautiful Survivor Organ! We are so proud to have this opportunity and have been glad to take the risk knowing that God will provide!
Sincerely,
The Organ Committee,
Trinity Lutheran Church,
Norman, Oklahoma
Check out our church's webpage:
Trinity Lutheran Church
This beautiful, tough old organ was built in 1909 by the Hinners Organ Company out of Pekin, Illinois, for the old German Methodist Church on 8th Street in downtown Oklahoma City. This rugged organ was designed for a church on the prairie with no readily available service people to maintain it and it played beautifully until April 19, 1995 when it was damaged during the bombing.
Our congregation here at Trinity Lutheran Church in Norman was extended an offer this spring to purchase the organ for $5,000 from Skyline Urban Ministries before the Eighth Street United Methodist Church in downtown OKC was scheduled for demolishing in August. Fortunately, our organist got us in contact with the University of Oklahoma Organ Shop who gave us a rough quote of $90,000 to remove, store, restore, and install the organ in our church.
In August 2014, the Voter’s Assembly of Trinity Lutheran Church in Norman approved the purchase, restoration and installation and we began fundraising within our congregation. So far we have paid the OU Organ Shop to remove and store it at their site and we are waiting until the current restoration project they are working on is complete sometime this year. We still need $25,000 pay for the restoration and installation to bring this Survivor back to life. As of April 2015, we have signed the second contract exhibit with OU and our organ will begin restoration work next spring to be completed and installed in the spring of 2017!
Why do we want to restore the Survivor Organ and bring it back to life?
This organ is doubly important to us as a church: as Oklahomans, it is a part of our rich history from the early days of our state. As a traditional liturgical Lutheran congregation, we are preserving our traditions of worship that our forefathers passed down to us.
How will the Survivor Organ benefit the community as well?
It is our intention to make the Survivor Organ available to schedule for practicing and recitals during the week when it does not interfere with services. There are only a couple of pipe organs in the area and it should be able to be enjoyed by everyone. All people are welcome at Trinity Lutheran Church and it would be a joy for us to see public organ recitals held in our sanctuary!
Why would this project be worthy of your gift?
- This organ is the oldest original in Oklahoma, built in 1909, and will become a part of our old stone church, founded in 1901 in the heart of Norman on old Highway 77
- We are a traditional liturgical congregation: this beautiful Survivor Organ will become part of our traditional worship each Sunday, and we hope for least another 100 years to come!
- It's a survivor that deserves to play again; we are a tough and resilient people that refuse to stay down and this beautiful organ is another reminder of our Oklahoma character
Please consider supporting the restoration of our beautiful Survivor Organ! We are so proud to have this opportunity and have been glad to take the risk knowing that God will provide!
Sincerely,
The Organ Committee,
Trinity Lutheran Church,
Norman, Oklahoma
Check out our church's webpage:
Trinity Lutheran Church
Organizer
Nils Gransberg
Organizer
Norman, OK
