The current church was built in 1981 and expanded in 1995. Capacity of the church is a little less than 1,100 people. As can be seen above, the church is laid out in a semi-circle with the organ sitting on the left side of the room. The terazzo floor and lack of any carpeting anywhere in the room make it very bright thus sound travels well. Hence the small stature of the organ is not as much of an issue than it would be if the room had carpeting or other sound dampening accessories.

While fully functioning, the church's organ is not used for most Mass services. Contemporary ensembles play once or twice during the weekend with the remaining Masses usually accompanied by piano. The organ is often used for major church holidays and almost always for weddings.

Because of the anticipated parish growth, there are discussions of possibly building a new church on land directly behind the parish school. If this becomes a reality, likely the current organ will not be kept. Whether the parish members will want to splurge for a real pipe organ (as opposed to an electronic organ) remains to be seen. Until that time, the humble Humpe organ ambles along.

Credits and Links

I'd like to thank St. Brendan Music Director Pete McClernon for his assistance with this page. Pete has known my family since I've been born and was at my parent's parish when I was baptized. In 2004 my wife and I began attending St. Brendan which was the same year Pete became music director. So our paths have crossed again 30 years after they first met.

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