Our photo gallery features historical events and views of the beautiful windows, sanctuary and organ. For current activities see the “Special Events” page under the “Calendar” heading.
Banners
In honor of St. Matthew’s 100th Anniversary, two beautiful banners were designed and created to decorate the sanctuary. There are fourteen 24 x 36 inch panels, each depicting a phrase from the Apostles’ Creed. The phrase texts are written on both sides of each panel. The material is raw silk (silk noil) and gold vinyl. The work was done by patchwork, appliques, embroidery and bonding. Mrs. Brigitte Pfau and Mrs. Norma Hahn made the silk panels. The text, design and production are by Tim Donahue Bombosch and Constance Hunt. The designs are copyrighted.
Pipe Organ
St Matthew’s pipe organ was built in 1923. Over the years various repairs and modifications were made but it had been some time since any major maintenance had been done. In the summer of 2015 a bequest was made by a member who wished to have the donation used for the organ. The Council of St. Matthew’s decided to establish an Organ Restoration Fund which would be used to renovate and repair this historic organ. The response to a request for donations was very good and this enabled the Church to acquire the services of Schoenstein & Co, an organ builder who had worked and maintained the organ in the past. Originally from Germany, this highly renowned firm builds and restores pipe organs across the country.
In March 2016 work was begun on removing, re-packing, and re-installing the pipes and making repairs throughout the instrument. Most importantly, the builder reversed a previous effort to “modernize” the organ’s tone, which had been done by cutting down certain pipes to create a Nazard stop. Schoenstein has brought back the original tone quality by rebuilding the pipes to duplicate those supplied with the original organ They also added a new rank of pipes called “Echo salicional” which adds another beautiful sound to the organ’s capabilities.
The Council of St. Matthew’s is grateful for the many donations, large and small, made to the fund in order to add to the beauty of regular Sunday services and special events.
115th Anniversary
On May 2, 2010 St. Matthew’s celebrated its 115th Anniversary at a combined service and on May 13th at a reception hosted by Consul General Rothen and his wife at the German Consulate in San Francisco.
This post is also available in: German