With great hope, we announced the Work of Our Hands project this past April.  During the summer and fall we’ve been humbled by the outpouring of support that our project has received from the local, national, and even global community.   This project has struck a chord with people on many levels, and they are energized by the possibilities that the collaboration between Abbey Woodworking and Pasi Organs will not only bring to Collegeville, but the broader region and country.  

Thus far over 1,000 supporters have made significant financial contributions to this project.  Newspapers, magazines, radio stations and various groups continue to reach out to us for information about our work, and with this sustained publicity there is good reason to believe that more supporters will join us in the months ahead.  As word of this project spreads we are also hearing from several churches interested in having a new organ built at Saint John’s.  This optimism and investment in the future of the project gives us much reason to hope.

As the season changes to fall we are deep in the work of planning and raising funds, holding to the promise that we are participating in our heritage rather than simply receiving it.  This fundraising and planning process is the forging of a chain linking past and future, handing tools from one generation to the next.

The next six months will be crucial for the timeline of Work of Our Hands.  We now look to finalize building plans, submit grant applications, and raise the remaining funds needed to begin construction in the fall of 2022.  This will be no small task as we know that it will be by the work of many hands that this project becomes a reality.  

If you have not had the chance to support Work of Our Hands, we invite you to join us in this once-in-a-lifetime endeavor.  You can contact us by email (sjawood@csbsju.edu) or phone (320-363-3305).  We also welcome tours of the shop to visit more about our collective vision. Many hands have already chipped in and we hope that many more will do so soon.

Follow the links below to view the publications writing and speaking about the new organ and the project:

Abbey Banner (pg. 22)
Saint Cloud Times
WJON
Minnesota Public Radio
CSB/SJU Record
Star Tribune