Music director restoring Monessen church’s organ

By Matt Petras

For the Mon Valley Independent 

When Jeff Donnelly, 37, music director for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Monessen, caught wind of a 2,032-piece pipe organ at the now-defunct Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church, he discovered what he viewed as a diamond in the rough. 

“Mold was even starting to engulf the console. It was getting bad,” Donnelly said. “But I still looked at it and I said, ya know, I could make something out of this, I could do something with this.” 

With the help of his parents and others in the community, Donnelly has been hard at work meticulously restoring the organ, which he hopes will be playable by Easter. 

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