A week and a half ago, I walked into St. Boniface Church. Technically, the building was closed. The organ workers needed the space to dismantle the pipes. But I had a key. I needed to get into the church to pick up a vestment from the sacristan. And I was curious about what this project would look like.

I’m glad I popped in. Enormous organ pipes were carefully placed over the pews—protected by soft pieces of cloth. Every pipe was lying in its appropriate place—next to its neighboring pipes. Wooden crates were sitting around, all carefully sized and marked to contain the pipes. I was amazed to recognize how much hardware the instrument contains. Each pipe produces a sound, each section adding its own color, all the pipes called upon to do their part in producing the music that sounds so effortless, so natural to us.

Of course, I’m glad to see the project moving forward. The pipes are in Albany now, being refurbished. Sometime in 2026, the new console (the piece with the keys) will come to us. (The instrument you see now is a loaner—replacing the practice instrument that proved challenging to all our keyboard players.) Then the pipes will return and we’ll hear the instrument reborn, as it were.

St. Gregory the Great more than once used the image of a musical instrument (he is, after all, one of the patron saints of musicians) to describe the Church. Each string on the harp, each voice in the choir, each pipe in the organ could be a symbol of the Christian who only gives God glory, working with other believers.

As we move forward with our capital campaign, I’m moved to see how we’ve joined forces together. I know we all have questions about what the best way to proceed might be. We wonder about how to appropriately spend our resources— whether it’s time, treasure, or talent. I’m happy to see the responses. Right now (Monday evening, that is), we have $364,117 in pledges! Thank you for your generosity, your vision, and your support. When it’s all done—organ, interior painting, columbarium, bell systems—it will be only because we all worked together.