MUSIC
"Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise! All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name!" Psalm 66: 1,4
Music is truly a gift from God and a blessed way to express devotion and praise to Him. The Bible is replete with admonitions and commands for the believer to sing and make music unto the Lord, while also being a depository of songs themselves most obviously in the book of Psalms but in many other places as well. From Genesis to Revelation, from the song of Moses to the song of the Lamb, the Word of God is full of singing! This should not be surprising for the heart of the faithful is a heart of gratitude eager to express love and praise to the Triune God, and this is what the church of Jesus Christ has been joyfully doing for centuries in music and in the singing of God’s covenant people.
Music is a way believers can join together offering to God the honor and praise which is due unto Him alone, and First Presbyterian Church has a long and rich tradition of excellence in making music for His glory. We encourage participation by all our members, young and old, but especially those who are gifted by God.
As a congregation, we sing the hymns of the church from the 2nd century to the modern-day, along with the Psalms of David and others written some 3000 years ago. As ensembles, we sing the music of the universal church and our music ministry provides choral opportunities for all ages from pre-school through seniors. We strongly encourage those with gifts in music to participate in our choirs.
REHEARSAL TIMES
Handbell Choir Rehearsals
Tuesday Evenings @ 5pm
Adult Choir Rehearsals
Tuesday Evenings @ 6pm
Children's Choir Rehearsals
Wednesday Evenings @ 6:30pm
OUR ORGAN
Early in 2019 the Session of our church made the great decision to renovate our sanctuary's organ. Our original, historic Pipe Organ was a simple tracker organ. However, in 1921, we installed an organ built by the Pilcher Organ Company in Louisville, Kentucky. This instrument was a two manual, seven stop instrument.
Our new organ has been rebuilt by Lincoln Pipe Organs of Lincolnton, NC. It is now a fully restored three manual Austin console. The instrument contains nine ranks of pipes. Our organ is also supplemented with "state of the art" digital ranks provided by Walker Digital. This Lincoln Pipe Organ was dedicated to the glory of God, and in loving memory of Mr. John Law, on July 26, 2020.
John Law, our former Organist, was a beloved friend of our congregation and was instrumental in our organ's renovation. Mr. Law passed away in June 2020. He was able to play our new instrument for a funeral before his death.
Our Piano
Our sanctuary's Steinway Piano was given by Mr. John Law in memory of his parents, who were faithful members of our congregation. Our Steinway is an antique seven-foot grand, which was originally constructed in 1895. It was beautifully restored by Mr. Peter Kutt, of Tryon, NC, in 2020.