Worship & Music at Christ Church
Worship Services begin every Sunday at 11:00am.
Most Sunday mornings we enjoy a traditional worship service with pipe organ and piano music, a choir, and congregational singing of old and new favorite hymns from the New Century Hymnal and other sources.
Once a month, the traditional blends with StillSmallVoice (singers, keyboard, and guitar). StillSmallVoice seeks to bring a contemporary voice to the worship of our church through a higher energy praise and worship service. StillSmallVoice usually joins us on the second Sunday of each month, but this energy often overflows into our other weekly services.
Our Sanctuary is home to a glorious Charles F. Durner pipe organ, dedicated in April 1905, and a beautiful new Steinway Boston grand piano dedicated in 2007.
The Charles F. Durner Organ
A native of Württemberg, Germany, Charles Frederick Durner and several members of his family came to Pennsylvania in the 1850s. He was from a family of organ builders; his great grandfather Johan Andreas Goll built organs in the German town of Weilheim and der Teck. An organ built by Johan Andreas Goll in 1795 still serves the Lutheran church in Weilheim.
The Durner organ company was founded by Charles F. Durner in Quakertown in 1861. His organs gained a reputation for their quality, especially after a Durner organ won first prize at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876.
Durner offered to furnish the organ for $2,000. The cost was partially offset by a donation of $500 from Andrew Carnegie and a $50 donation by Eisenlohr Brothers, a local tobacco firm. The organ was installed on the rear balcony in January 1905. According to the Pennsburg Town and Country, the new Durner was played for the first time on Sunday, February 26, 1905 and dedicated on Sunday, April 2nd. Special sermons were preached by the Reverend William Hinke, professor at the Reformed Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, and the Reverend D.W. Ebert, president of Ursinus College.
When a small fire damaged the church in 1918, the organ was spared and renovations to the sanctuary were undertaken. The side balconies were removed and the organ was relocated to the right of the chancel. In 1952, an electric console replaced the original tracker and chimes were added. In the fifty years since, the organ has served the church faithfully. In 2004-2005, it has undergone major work to restore it to its full capabilities. Each week, the congregation enjoys the Durner organ music that fills our historic sanctuary.
