MAYSVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — They're the songs you heard holding mom and dad's hands growing up. They're the same songs your kids hear while they hold your hand.
"You know, [the church] was built in 1876, and it has been in marvelous, marvelous standing ever since," said Christian Kalb, the organist at First Christian Church in Maysville.
Nearly a century and a half where sounds from a complex instrument has echoed the halls.
"The connection to music is something everybody knows whether you can sing or can't sing or enjoy listening," Kalb said. "Playing it yourself, there's just no other experience like it."
Kalb has been with the church for a couple of years. He calls it more than an honor but a privilege to serve in this role. He grew up in church. Not this specific one, but he has been given a hand in his connection with faith.
"My first words I ever spoke out of my mouth was in the choir loft of the church growing up," he said. "That was about three or four years old."
Once looking down from the choir loft to the organ bench, now filling not just any seat. He learned about playing the organ from his great-aunt.
"Two weeks after she had passed away, I was up on the organ bench," Kalb said. "I was ready."
His great-aunt died in 2013. Now ten years later, Kalb is leading the mission of restoring the church's organ.
"The history of this organ is more than unique; it's a gem," he said. "It's a hidden gem."
"Just as the prelude begins, it's as if we're being ushered onto some holy ground," said Jeff Sames, the church's pastor.
The community has held hands, bound together in this church. Now it's time to extend that hand elsewhere.
"It's not just the leather; it's also the pipes because they shrink or expand," Kalb said.
The organ had sat dormant for about a decade, slowly deteriorating. Nearly 1,300 pipes -- some metal and wood -- don't nearly work the same as they once did 52 years ago.
"Half the time, it doesn't even work, so I can't even rely on it," Kalb said.
He has been able to use the organ on Sundays but admits it doesn't work the way it necessarily should. We've been linked together by this universal sound etched to our souls.
"That's what I'm trying to change," Kalb said. "I'm trying to change the world with this organ. And hopefully, by the grace of God, it'll happen."
There's hope the sound won't go silent. The community has relied on it before, but now it needs the same helping hand.
They're aiming to raise approximately $160,000. Anything over will go toward maintenance of the organ and tuning expenses. If you want to help or have questions, you can reach the church at 606-564-5568.
