The Bach Festival at Grace Church begins its 21st season on the 6th of July. 

Always highly anticipated and favorably reviewed it has strong community support among music lovers, Bach aficionados and a small but dedicated coterie of organ nuts. 

Our Grace organ, lovingly crafted by A. David Moore and essentially hand built to Grace Church requirements, was on its consecration received as a major musical event in Washington and the subject of celebration in not only the local press but also in nationally recognized organ magazines.

The story of the acquisition of this instrument features three major figures; John Fesperman, Grace's organist and music director, Noreen Dann Martin, Senior Warden and The Reverend Jo C. Tarrt. 

John located the organ, intended for another parish and left unfinished in David's Vermont workshop. 

Noreen even-handedly oversaw the eventual purchase of the organ between a party of risk-averse parishioners with real fears about the cost of the instrument and another group who hoped that giving the instrument a home at Grace would be an investment in liturgical expression and community outreach for decades to come. 

Jo, during whose tenure Grace blossomed into a growing, open and welcoming presence in and beyond Georgetown imparted the wisdom that conflict can be creative and not necessarily dangerous.

The reality that the predecessor organ was beyond its useful life brought this opportunity forward. John used this undeniable truth to leverage support from the Grace congregation and the Washington musical and civic community toward what can only be described as a bold venture. David had a growing reputation as a skilled and dedicated craftsman of which John was aware. 

John presented any alternative as a near-term compromise to musical excellence, to which he was sincerely dedicated. Which is not to say that he was shy about putting a thumb on the decision-making scale and in some cases working both ends against the middle.

With events that were in the grand tradition of suspense fiction cliff-hangers, finding a home for the organ careened from crisis to near-disaster to ultimate triumph on a near operatic scale and after a series of explainable but frustrating delays the organ was dedicated in the early part of 1981. A line of local music directors and organists were graciously invited to try out the new organ and its reputation grew greatly in the ensuing weeks.

Recently David was encountered in the Grace organ loft doing essential cleaning, tuning and re-voicing of some pipes. He was cordial, even affable, despite an interruption of his time on a brief trip from Vermont to refurbish his creation. 

Easily recognizable from photographs taken in the 1980's, his older face emphasized his youth as incipient master craftsman. His recollections of Grace and John were warm and affirming.

And the response of the congregation to Grace's tradition of excellent liturgical music today under the directorship of Francine Mate, and of the community to the annual Bach Festival, fostered by then musical director and present parishioner Larry Molinaro and family could also be described as warm and affirming. 

To one ear at least, Bach's transformation of simple themes into intricate and ever-changing music mirrors Grace's simple origins in the middle 1860's and its growth and transformation to meet the challenges of its times and the needs of its congregation and community. Every note played on our organ is a "Grace" note.

Editor's note: in a previous month a former rector's name was stated as C. Miles Perkins rather than C. Mills Perkins who was known as Mills to the congregation and greater Georgetown community. (I wish it could be attributed to a typo rather than a faulty memory) 

The Friends of Grace Gala was a huge success. The decorations were wonderful. The food was excellent, although people wanted more oyster po'boys! The attendance was the best we have ever had. The silent auction exceeded our expectations!

The Vestry reviewed a draft of the Sunday School and Child Care Emergency  and Security Procedures. In the new procedures, the gray entrance doors would be closed and locked at certain times when Sunday School is in session. Additionally, a buzzer system would be installed for when the doors are locked.

The Children's Sunday School is scheduled to have an emergency drill on June 15.

John Graham, Leila Harrington, and the Vestry  are considering a new form for Koinonia Dinners. One possibility is to have pot luck dinners at Grace three or four times a year. Dinners would be planned around a theme like Harvest, Valentine's, All Saints.

Sarah Motley, our Assistant Rector, is leading the Spirit in Nature, Summer 2014 Christian Education Pilgrimage. This will be a four session tromp through gardens and arboretums in the DC region. Stops will include the Bishop's Garden at the National Cathedral, the National Arboretum, Green Spring Farm, and River Farm.

John Graham and Diana Dick attended a Pre-Application Grant Workshop hosted by the Preservation League of DC. We qualify for a grant for our Stone work because we are a religious property and we are in an historic district. The competitive award can be $10 up to $50,000. The application is due on 6/20.