Restoring Grace

Grace Church organ Restoration in the News!

2016-03-19T11:26:00.003-04:00

The Medford Transcript and the Boston Globe both covered the restoration of the Grace Church organ.

Links can be found here:

Boston Globe

Medford Transcript

Grace Episcopal Church Welcomes Home Restored Organ

2016-03-11T12:02:00.004-05:00

For nearly a year, there has been no organ music at Medford’s Grace Episcopal Church. Last April, the church’s 1885 Hook and Hastings organ was removed piece-by-piece for a complete restoration by David E. Wallace and Co. in Gorham, Maine. Over the years, there has been an accumulation of dirt and grime in the organ and it began to have systems fail. The console for playing the organ had become outdated, and was too difficult to repair. This month, the organ returned to Medford, and its over 700 pipes, and over 10,000 parts were re-installed over an almost two month period.

“Grace Church is never at a loss when it comes to joyous singing, but the energy of having our historic organ back is powerful and palpable. Upon its first note, people exploded with applause, then proceeded to sing even louder than usual - with absolute pride, love, and joyous conviction. To hear it play once again was beautiful and incredibly moving,” said Lucia Page, Grace Church Warden.

The restoration of the organ was much needed to continue to support the inspirational worship of the parish community. “…after ten years at Grace struggling with its obsolete and ailing console and even older electric and pneumatic parts, now I have the exciting prospect of playing an organ on which all the notes and stops and pistons actually work. This is an organist's dream come true, and Grace Church is to be congratulated for completing this project so successfully," said Ruth Roper, Grace Church Minister of Music.

David Wallace, who restored the organ stated, “For those in our profession, there is no more satisfying moment than when an instrument into which you have poured hundreds of hours of meticulous work comes to life and plays its first notes. Though well-worn and suffering the ravages of time and change, we saw the potential of the Grace Church Hook & Hastings organ and realized that with a well-planned renovation, the organ had a good voice and lots of years of service left in it. It has also been a great joy for us to see the reaction of the Grace Parish members as the organ came back to life in its home space. Our goal for the Grace Church project has been to return the organ to its mission of inspiring worship and encouraging music now and for generations of worshipers to come.”

The organ restoration was funded through the Church’s 2011 Capital Campaign. The organ restoration was the last of the Campaign’s many projects which included restoration of the Grace Church’s historic 1867 building, bell tower and bells, installing a new high efficiency heating system and new handicap accessible bathrooms. “These past five years have been amazing for Grace Church as we focused on our mission to serve our wider community, as we also restored our parish home,” said the Reverend Noah H. Evans, Rector of Grace Church, “the members of the community really pulled together and gave sacrificially to make these projects happen. I am in awe and gratitude of their generosity.”

The conclusion of the Capital Campaign will be celebrated and the organ will be blessed at a special service with the Rt. Rev. Alan M. Gates, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts on Wednesday, April 6th at 7:00PM. All are invited and welcome at the service.

Allison Andrews, Grace Church Historian and Organ Restoration Committee Chair concluded, “What a joy to hear the organ again. It fills the void, musical and physical, and makes the sanctuary feel complete again.”

Grace Episcopal Church in Medford, located at 160 High St., is a dynamic and vibrant spiritual home to a diverse congregation of more than 200 families with different racial, social, ethnic, cultural, family and religious backgrounds. Built in 1867, the Grace Church Sanctuary is on the National Register of Historic Places. Designed by noted architect Henry Hobson Richardson, it is his oldest surviving Church.

Organ Update: More Mysterious Parts & Shiny Clean Pipes

2015-10-29T14:59:00.004-04:00

More Mysterious Parts & Shiny Clean Pipes

Electronic parts have arrived from Germany. What they all do is not always clear, but we have faith that they will make the organ send out beautiful music. Here are some:

Chest Magnets are being fit to the pedal chest. They will pull open the pallets. There will be lots of careful wiring to do here.

When a pedal at the console is played it will push down on the Lever (on the right) and make contact with the wires (on the left) which will relay the electrical signal to the magnets (see chest magnets, above), allowing wind to the pipes.

New Slider Motors! Twenty one of these will replace the failed pneumatic and screen door spring devices in previous use.

Pretty Simple !?!

Pipes Get Washed, Pipes Get Un-Squashed

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Dents are gently taken out with a leathered block

Meanwhile back at Grace, the Organ Chamber build-out continues.

A visit to the Organ in Maine

2015-09-08T14:53:00.000-04:00

A visit to the Organ in Maine

by Allison Andrews, Parish Historian

On Friday, August 28, fourteen Grace members, including 4 children, went to the David E. Wallace & Company in Gorham, Maine, to visit our 1885 Hook & Hastings organ in "the hospital."

David and Nick Wallace, father and son, and partners in organ building, welcomed us into the huge old barn that is their workshop. The big yard and chicken coop were a hit with the kids.

The organ is still in parts. Work continues on the major parts that work behind the scenes in organ chamber. These are wooden structures with intricate wooden, metal, and electrical elements. When possible, the original parts are being reused and painted or shellacked, in the original fashion. New parts are built when the old ones are beyond repair, or in some cases, to replace a clumsy, cobbled-together segment with a new streamlined version. The pieces that left Medford a dingy gray color will come back painted a lively "Hook red." New electronic components are en route from Germany.

In the workshop, we were introduced to a new wooden wind chest - a deceptively simple box on the outside but full of handcrafted parts that move with split-second accuracy to sound the proper notes. The old wind chests were cracked and allowed air to bleed from one pipe into its neighbors, sometimes sounding a few notes that weren't asked for.

The new console (where the organist sits) will be built next. The workshop has a small, fully functional Hook & Hastings of our vintage and its console, along with others from the 1885 era, will inform the design of our new console. The pipes themselves will require little work by comparison because they are in good working order.

It is interesting to note how the available technology affected not only how an organ could be built in 1885, but changes that would be made over time.

As originally built, our organ was a "tracker" or manual organ. A note pressed on the keyboard activated the mechanism that opened the air valve to fill the pipe and make the sound.

To create the wind, water pressure was used to force air into the organ's reservoirs. We found evidence of this in pipes and pulleys under the chamber floor. This was possible because in 1885 the city had a water system in place, with water pressure sufficient to do the job. (And before that, young boys were recruited to pump bellows by hand!)

Electricity had not come into common use quite soon enough when our 1885 organ was built. When it was electrified in the 1950s, the relay system from keyboard to pipes went from mechanical to electronic, and the removal of fixed parts meant the console and other components could be repositioned while maintaining the connection electronically. Today, updating the 1950s electronics is a big part of the current restoration. For wind generation, we use an electric blower.

Once all of the work at Wallace is complete, the organ will be put together for a dry run at the shop, then disassembled and reassembled at Grace. We are on schedule for its return by Christmas.

David welcomes visitors at any time. Give them a call if you're in the area and stop by!

New wind chest - a big box that holds air.

Wind chest with front panel removed. It is full of intricate parts, which David explains.

Looking on are: Isaiah Irwin-Evans, Jane and Lucas Hamel, and Charlie DePalma.

Left: an electromagnetic solenoid that will slide parts into position. Right: The H&H-style stop knob that will be used at the new keyboard.

Toe boards, old and new. David shows an old board that is being cleaned and shellacked, and a new one built to replace one that was beyond repair. The toe board connects to the top of the wind chest, pipes stand in the holes and receive air from below.

Each hole must fit its pipe exactly. Nick shows us a cone-shaped "branding" tool for refining the hole size. The inner rims of the holes appear dark because the wood is slightly charred.

Nick and Wes Foote discuss the plans for layout of the organ chamber.

The workshop is an 18th century barn. There are several functioning organs in the shop. This one is a Hook & Hastings about the same age as ours. Its console (where the organist sits) will be one model for the design of our new console. Note the wooden pieces behind David repainted "Hook red."

Why build a new piece? In this case, the old one (right) was cobbled together over time into a bulky assemblage. The new one (left) was designed and built for the job.

Valves that open to release air to the pipes - over 100 of them in the process of being built.

Wes ponders the new blower.

What are organs made of? Times may change but the best materials remain the same. Replacement parts are made of the same wood as the originals. Leather is a reliable connecting material. Fish glue is made from fish! And as Steve Duggan bravely finds out, it doesn't smell too bad.

The H&H console that ours will be modeled after.

A portable organ, designed and built by Nick Wallace. Packed up, it fits in a mini-van.

More photos can be found on David Wallace's Facebook page

Boards Full of Holes and Lots of Cleaning

2015-07-20T15:06:00.001-04:00

By Allison Andrews, Parish Historian

Work on the windchests and toeboards is wrapping up. So many boards full of holes! Some toeboards had been "altered beyond redemption" so replica replacements were built. Other parts have cleaned up nicely.

Supporting frame pieces are getting cleaned and readied for a fresh coat of shellac to bring them back to their 1875 appearance.

The boxy wooden pedal pipes have been painted "Hook Red."

Toeboards old, and new

Windchest

A good cleaning, long overdue

Wooden Pedal Pipes painted "Hook Red"

Console, Drilling, Blower

2015-06-30T10:18:00.002-04:00

Console, Drilling, Blower

by Allison Andrews, Parish Historian

Next up - the new console. Wallace will design and build this for us. The original console is long gone. The one we just removed was from the 1950s.

The console case holds the keyboards (and the array of puzzling knobs) and pedal board. On the inside is a complex set of relays that signal pipes to sound when notes are played.

Pictured here is a concept sketch by Nick Wallace for the new console. The design incorporates details from the casework of other Hook & Hastings instruments of the era to "add a bit of authenticity to the console design," as David Wallace explains.

Sketch for the new console by Nick Wallace, June 2015 (not to scale)

Meanwhile, drilling of holes for the placement of pipes proceeds.

And the new blower has arrived. This is the apparatus that breathes the air into the organ. This one is smaller, cleaner, and quieter than the 1950s model it replaces. The old blower, now a relic, has been claimed by an engineering-inclined parishioner.

Mural, Kalamzou and Windchests

2015-06-15T19:01:00.001-04:00

These posts are authored by Allison Andrews, Parish Historian

MURAL

Two big changes when the organ was removed: a piano was moved into in the Madonna corner and large gap was left behind the choir. This space has been filled with a mural created by Rev. Maggie Arnold and Adele Travisano. Maggie describes the mural as "a very loose homage to Helen Frankenthaler's painting "Bay Side" from 1967." The decorated cardboard organ attached to it is a co-creation of parishioners at the "Goodbye Organ" dinner in April.

"KALAMZOU CHAP"

"Kalamazou Chap" These words with a carved leaf are found on a piece of wood that was removed from the organ chamber. What could they mean? Are they part of a longer phrase? Maybe an inside joke? Are they from 1875, or a later addition?

AT THE SHOP - WINDCHESTS

Meanwhile back at the workshop, the rebuilding has begun: They are building wind chests, the wooden boxes that hold pressurized air. Our organ will have several.

Here is the top side of a wind chest, called the toe board, under construction. Holes will be drilled where pipes will set their "toes" and stand ready to receive air from the chest below. The drawing shows the complicated plan for placement of the holes.

Dismantling

Organ Pipes, Up Close

2015-05-04T12:26:00.003-04:00

Stamp on organ pipe

"Societe de la Vieille Montagne, Liege"

The Vieille Montagne (Old Mountain) Company, Liege

By Allison Andrews, Parish Historian

Our organ pipes are made of zinc from a town called Boom in the Liege region in Belgium, as David Wallace discovered by the manufacturer's stamp on the back of the facade pipes.

According to David, "It seems the mine in Belgium was THE place to purchase zinc sheets in the 19th century. This same mark has shown up on pipes by other Boston builders from the same period."

Also found on the back of some pipes, the original stenciled decoration which was later painted over.

Evidence of the original stencil decoration

130 Year old Grace Episcopal Church pipe organ removed for a complete restoration!

2015-04-17T07:38:00.003-04:00

For 130 years Grace Episcopal Church in Medford has been honorably served by its 1885 Hook and Hastings pipe organ. This week, for the first time since its installation, the organ was completely dismantled piece-by-piece and sent to David E. Wallace and Co. organ builders in Gorham, Maine for a complete restoration.

“In 1875 the parish proudly chose a premier company to design and build an instrument for the acoustics of this sanctuary,” said Allison Andrews, the Grace Episcopal Church parish historian.

Over the years, there has been an accumulation of dirt and grime in the organ and it began to have systems fail. The console for playing the organ had become outdated, and was now too difficult to repair. It was time for the organ to have a complete restoration overhaul.

The organ, with its over 700 pipes, was disassembled over three days, with the pipes placed across the pews of the church before they were packed into boxes and loaded into a truck. There were several surprises during the removal, including an old door, which leads to a bricked up wall that had been covered since the organs original installation.

“I am excited to see our parish community’s commitment and love for music and the arts expressed through this organ restoration,” said the Reverend Noah H. Evans, Rector of Grace Episcopal Church. “We have a long heritage of love for singing and music, and having a fully restored and functioning organ will lead us to more fully embrace this passion.”

This organ restoration project is the final project to be paid for by the 2011 Grace Church Capital Campaign along with additional fundraising done recently to help support this effort.

“There's nothing like a pipe organ -- its ability to affect the emotions, allowing the gathered worshippers to step into the living stream of sacred music and actually feel the sound vibrations, whether or not one is a singer, and feel that amazing power of music to inspire and heal,” said Ruth Roper, Minister of Music at Grace Episcopal Church. The organ will return to Grace Episcopal Church in December, to be re-installed over four weeks, just before Christmas.

Grace Episcopal Church in Medford, located at 160 High Street, is a dynamic and vibrant spiritual home to a diverse congregation of over 200 families with different racial, social, ethnic, cultural, family and religious backgrounds. Built in 1867, the Grace Church Sanctuary is on the National Register of Historic Places. Designed by noted architect Henry Hobson Richardson, it is his oldest surviving Church. The chimes in the steeple were raised in 1873, and cast by Blake Brothers Company, successor firm to Paul Revere's. Between 1882 and 1957, several additions were made to the church building, including the parish hall and education wings.

Saying Good Bye to the Organ!

2015-04-13T16:57:00.000-04:00

“Farewell, See You Soon”

Organ Sendoff Celebration and Dinner

Sunday, April 12, 2015

The night before our 1875 Hook & Hastings Organ was be removed and taken to the shop of our organ restorer for its complete restoration. We gathered the night before to say farewell to our organ until it returns just before Christmas.

Dinner decorations!

Learning to play and love music!

Decorate a pipe!

Food!

Organ crawl...

2015-04-01T16:25:00.000-04:00

Our 1875 Hook & Hastings will get its restoration!

Shortly after Easter, the organ will be dismantled and all of its parts taken to the workshop of David E. Wallace & Co. in Gorham, Maine where everything will be cleaned and repaired or replaced.

The finished instrument will be re-installed by Christmas. In the chancel, we will have a new keyboard console, designed in the 1875 style but compact, movable, and fitted with modern components. The chamber in back will be renovated and the pipes and blower functions reinstalled there. A properly restored organ is considered to be "good as new" in both sound and functionality, ready to deliver many more years of service.

The Organ Restoration Taskforce will monitor progress and keep the parish posted with updates and opportunities to watch and take part. Meanwhile, the Fundraising Committee will continue to secure the last portion of the restoration cost.

David and Nick Wallace have visited Grace several times to get to know our organ and its needs. We look forward to working with them on the restoration

2012-11-19T09:54:00.001-05:00

On Sunday, November 18, the bells were dedicated at rung for the first time. Please see this video of the bells ringing. Check back later for more photo from the day!

2012-11-16T08:21:00.004-05:00

It's that time! The scaffolding is down, the bells work. There is still some work to be completed on the project, like the stained glass window repairs, but we are ready to bless and dedicate!

You are cordially Invited to

Grace Episcopal Church

Bell Rededication

and Restoration Celebration

Sunday, November 18, 2012

10:00AM – Festive Holy Eucharist

11:30AM – Bell Re-dedication

and Ice Cream Social

Grace Episcopal Church

160 High Street

Medford, MA 02155

www.gracemedford.org

781-396-7215

office@gracemedford.org

"Sandy" damage at Grace Church

2012-10-31T14:33:00.003-04:00

During the storm "Sandy," on October 29-30th, Grace Church had some damage. The scaffolding on the bell tower began to come off during the storm, and due to the strong winds some of the boards on the scaffolding fell on to the roof of the church. One broke a stained glass window (the "come to me..." with Jesus with outstretched arms), and another board punched a hole in the church roof. There was also some other roof slate damage as well.

Due to this happening as a result of the contractors work on the building, our contractor, and their insurance, is liable for this damage. The scaffolding has now been re-secured, and temporary patches placed on the roof. The stained glass window has been removed for repair. Please see the photos and video below to see the scope of the damage and the repair.

A hole in the Grace Church rood from the storm

The Bell Tower scaffolding being repaired after the storm

The broken stained glass window being removed for repair

Bell Installation

2012-10-31T13:21:00.002-04:00

On October 23-25, the Bells were re-installed into the tower of Grace Episcopal Church. Our Bell contractor, Chimemaster of Ohio, installed a new bell frame, the 8 old Blake Brothers Bells, and the one newly recast bell (see previous bog post for the story of the recast bell).

The Medford Bell, once intended to be a fire bell for the City of Medford, is the largest of the 9 bells. Here is it being raised into the tower...

Here is another movie of a bell being installed on the new frame...

Chimemaster Jeff Crook talks about the difference between the "old" and "new" bells

We are now waiting for electrical work to be completed, and then Chimmaster will return to finish the installation job. We are currently on track to re-dedicate the bells on Sunday, November 18, 2012 after the 10:00AM service.

Tower work progressing...waiting for the bells!

2012-10-22T12:54:00.002-04:00

Most of the exteriors work is complete on the bell tower now. We are waiting for the bells to be delivered, and the new louvers to arrive from the manufacturer, for the louvers to go in. The new bell platform in complete, along with the new ladder. See below for a view...

The bells are set to arrive this week, with the new bell frame. The newly re-cast bell has been delivered from Holland to our bell company. Take a look at the new steel frame and the re-cast bell below.

The new steel bell frame at the bell company, before it is galvanized.

Re-cast Bell delivered to our bell company

The bells are set to arrive, and be re-installed this week. We plan on spending a few weeks figuring out how to use them, before our big Bell re-dedication on Sunday, November 18. November 18 will be the first Sunday we ring the bells (though there may be some seek-peak times during the week).

Grace Church Blesses New Boiler!

2012-09-10T09:21:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, September 9, 2012, the Rt. Rev. Gayle Elizabeth Harris, Bishop Suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts blessed Grace Episcopal Church's new boiler during her official visitation to the parish. "Almighty God, your Holy Spirit equips the church with a rich variety of gifts to accomplish your will and mission in the world. Today we celebrate the most practical of gifts, the gift of boilers to warm our church, that it may serve as the gathering and meeting place for our congregation and the community," she prayed as she blessed the boiler.

The $100,000 project completed replaces the church's old failing oil system with high efficiency gas condensing boilers. This boiler project will both save the church money on energy costs, and dramatically reduce the building's carbon footprint. MedfordWellington Service, of Medford, installed the new boiler. This boiler replacement is part of Grace Episcopal Church's historical restoration and building greening project funded by the church's 2011 Capital Campaign.

Trip to the Top

2012-09-06T09:59:00.002-04:00

On Thursday, August 30th, our contractor Jay Murray led a tour to the top of our Bell Tower for Wes Foote, Jr, the Reverend Noah Evans, Jonathan Hunt, Allison Andrews and Eva Englert. Jonathan took the above video, and see below for our photo slideshow.

MEANWHILE, IN THE NETHERLANDS...From Minister of Music Ruth Roper

2012-09-06T09:24:00.002-04:00

MEANWHILE, IN THE NETHERLANDS...

Two weeks ago Noah shared with me the story of the damaged bell and its pending re-casting; he was curious what I thought, both as a history buff, and as Grace's musician, who will be playing these bells sometime soon. While it's disappointing not to have all of the bells conserved in their pristine original form, I actually find it kind of cool that this one bell is having this incredible adventure. From Medford, to the U.S. heartland... then off to Asten, half a world away in the Netherlands, to the premiere bell foundry in the world... for melt-down, and like the phoenix, to rise from the ashes into a digitally-exact replica. Wow! And isn't our faith a lot about renewal and rebirth?

"I almost wish one of us could fly over there to witness it," Noah mused. Well, as it happens, my niece Joanna was in fact going to be in the Netherlands that very week! So, in a flurry of e-mails, I arranged to have her make the 2-hour side trip to the Royal Eijsbouts Foundry (http://www.eijsbouts.com/), to witness the event on our behalf. She was to be met at the train by Joep, the Dutch artisan overseeing this project, and given a tour. Our bell was not scheduled for its recasting until after Joanna's visit, but on the day of her visit she would be able to see its wax cast, and was invited to observe a bell for the Notre Dame in Paris being poured. Joanna, herself an artist who works with molten glass, not to mention always up for an offbeat adventure, was thrilled for the opportunity. After the foundry visit, she planned a visit to the associated "Klok & Peel" ("Clock & Bell") museum in Asten. (http://www.museumasten.nl/) I got so jazzed up reading these materials that I actually considered flying over there myself! (Curious? Read this: http://artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=54970#.UEgLRiLduSp)

I've been hoping to hear more from her about how the visit went -- so far I've just heard that it was "awesome!!" and received this picture of her next to a bell twice her size. (Her time in Holland was bnef, as she was en route to Israel to begin a program there.) Hopefully we'll hear more from her about her day with our phoenix-bell, so watch for future posts.

The scaffolding reaches the top!

2012-08-23T11:43:00.002-04:00

This week the scaffolding has reached the top of the Grace Episcopal Church Bell tower. It is quite and impressive site to the the work climb to the top of the tower.

Our masons are almost done with the front vestibule of the church, when they are done, They will start work on the interior of the bell tower until the scaffolding is ready for them to begin work on the exterior of the tower. The High Street door of the church may be closed for a couple of weeks.

The Bell company sent the bell to the foundry in the Netherlands to have it repaired (see the last blog post for the story of the cracked bell). The foundry (Royal Eijsbouts Bell Foundry) can't fix it, but will take a mold of our old bell and cast one that is identical. They will also use digital technology to shape the new bell's sound to exactly replicate the old bell's sound. They plan to take our old bell and melt it down and use the same bronze to fabricate the new one. All of this is at no additional cost to us. There will be both material and metaphysical links between the old and new bell!

Right now the bells are scheduled to come back the begging of October, and we hope to have the entire project completed by early November. The work seems to be on schedule at this time.

Phase II Tower Work Begins

2012-08-15T14:35:00.000-04:00

The Phase II Restoration work on the Grace Church bell tower has begun! We anticipate that this work on the Bell Tower and the High Street foyer will continue until the first week in November.

Our General Contractor, Murray Brothers has demolished and removed the internal first floor of the bell tower.

And the second floor platform (which will not be replaced).

The floor was then filled, and will have new concrete slab added later.

Our masons are working to match the mortar color and consistency with the building --

You can follow our masonry subcontractors perspective on this project on their own blog found here.

We also have learned, unfortunately, that one of our bells developed a hairline crack as the bell contractors were working on it. The bell is being shipped to the foundry in the Netherlands in order to be repaired. You can see the crack in the photo below radiating down from one on the bolt holes. We are told that the crack does not effect the part of the bell that produces sound, and will be able to be fully repaired.

Replacing Our Ancient Boilers

2012-06-06T16:54:00.004-04:00

Compared to the rest of the historical buildings the boilers and furnaces are not that old, but they were at the end of their lifespans at 40, so as part of the overall restoration of Grace Church, we are replacing them with high efficiency natural gas boilers and water to air heat exchangers.

The benefits of the new boilers are many, but here are a few of my favorites:

Saving Energy - We expect to save 100,000 kBTU each year, saving us thousands of dollars and reducing our environmental impact by 18 metric tons of CO₂ every year.
No More Oil - We no longer have to deal with oil deliveries, the volatile price of oil and having oil tanks on site. What a relief!
No More Combustion in the Church - with the removal of the natural gas furnaces and their replacement with water to air heat exchangers and fan coils, all of the combustion for the heating system now takes place only in the boiler room and not underneath our beautiful sanctuary.

Here are some pictures from the boiler upgrade work that Medford Wellington has been doing.

Before & Now


Old inefficient boilers

Old Oil Boilers Piping

New High-Efficiency Natural Gas Boilers

Old Oil Tanks

Old Furnaces that mostly failed this Winter

New boilers wearing blankets because it is cold today

Old ducting and furnaces for recycling

Pipes and fittings to be installed for new heating system

Bags of fittings for new heating

More to come...

Bell Removal!

2012-06-06T16:19:00.002-04:00

The bells were removed today from the Grace Episcopal Church bell tower, and sent to Chime Master in Lancaster, Ohio for restoration. The entire operation took two days, and was an amazing feat. The bells will be restored, fitted with new clappers on a new metal frame in Ohio, and then disassembled and brought back and reassembled inside our bell tower after the tower has been restored. We hope to have the bells back this fall.

Update - May 14

2012-05-14T09:45:00.001-04:00

Restoration Update - May 14, 2012

Bell Restoration: We have selected a contractor – Chime Master of Lancaster, Ohio. Tentative bell removal date - first week of June!!

Phase II: Is on track to begin this work in late summer of 2012. Our Architect is finalizing plans and developing bid documents for this phase relating to mostly the bell tower. We hope to get this out to bid soon, with a late May or early June start date.

New Parish Heat System (s): Medford Wellington has begun work on the new system. They are installing pipes now and will switch out the old system, and install the new one when our heating season is over. National Grid is also upgrading the gas line into the Church, which will involve some excavation of the front lawn, and moving the gas meter from inside the basement to the outside of the church.

Sanctuary Lighting: There is a demo light currently installed in the Baptismal area, and on one section of the South wall of the church. The building committee is testing and trying several possible alternatives to provide more light that is also energy efficient. Additionally, a new fixture has been ordered for the Baptismal area.

Restoration Update - February 28, 2012

2012-02-28T16:37:00.001-05:00

Wedding and front church Door: We are still interviewing prospective contractors to do the work on the doors.

Bell Restoration: We have selected a contractor – Chime Master of Lancaster, Ohio. They are affiliated with Duffy and Sons who worked on the Grace Church chimes in 1973. The Vestry elected to make the large bell (once the Medford fire bell) able to be swung by a rope, in addition to and electrified clapper, so that we can have the experience of manually swinging that bell. Thanks to Wes Foote, Jr, Allison Andrews and Noah Evans who worked interviewing and selecting a bell contractor.

Phase II: It seems that we are on track to begin this work in late spring or summer of 2012. Our Architect is finalizing plans and developing bid documents for this phase relating to mostly the bell tower. We hope to get this out to bid in March.

New Parish Heat System (s): The Vestry has approved a contract for a new heating system for the church and parish house. This system will consist of high efficiency boilers and will reduce our heating bills and carbon footprint. We hope to have the new system installed in the Spring or Summer.