Forget, for the moment, that Zachary Crippen’s church has been in the news because of a nasty, high-profile divorce from its mother denomination.
And let’s sidestep the fact that there’s a dispute over who owns the towering stone church building and its belongings, including the 80-year-old organ.
This story is about the young man who brought music back into the lives of the congregation of Grace CANA Church, a group that broke away in March from the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado. The timing wasn’t the best. It was right before Easter, a highly attended service that begs for a church organist. But the organist and most of the choir did not join the breakaway.
Enter Crippen, a master of the keyboard with about eight years of piano lessons to his credit. That’s piano, not organ. He had never touched an organ, but he wasn’t deterred. He stepped into the vacuum and up to the organ ”” and it took him 10 minutes to figure out how to open it up.
Zach is a truly commited, brilliant young man. He attends our Bible study class on Tuesdays. His observations and comments there are of a depth of understanding that is truly remarkable. He is mature far beyond his 16 years of life. The wonderful aspect of his family is that his siblings exhibit similar, if not different, talents all nurtured by loving and equally talented parents and grandparents. The home schooling in this case has molded a group of young people who are, and will be, a tremendous asset in the community. The Crippens are truly blessed in their Christian family life.
Wow. As the child of parents who hold music degrees and having a small amount of musical talent myself, I am awed by this fine young man. God is so awesome!
This young man’s switch to organ so fast is really remarkable. I took up organ after studying piano for years, but I wasn’t ready for playing at church for a year or two as I recall. Congratulations to you, Zachary.
Sounds like a wonderful situation for this young man, his family, and church. Somehow I’m not surprised that he’s homeschooled. (We taught our two sons at home also.)
I started playing the organ in church at the age of 12, having begun piano lessons at age nine. The small town Catholic Church my family were members of also had a parochial school. One of the nuns was the main organist at the time and when she found out that she’d be teaching elsewhere the next fall she began a crash organ course with me and another girl in our sixth grade class. Before I finished junior high I was the regular organist at the 11:00 AM Mass. In high school I was asked to play for weddings and funerals at other churches in the community.
Today I still prefer the piano or electronic keyboard. I never became very skilled at pedal work. But in a pinch I can play the organ if I have some time to get familiar with that particular instrument.
Wow! Many blessings to Zachary for following God and stepping into the gap.
Congrats to his parents as well. IIRC his dad shows up around here every now and then.
Just goes to show you what invested parents can do for a child. I’ve always thought that the key to being a good parent is to find out what gifts your child has and then to support and encourage them in a positive way. That plus bringing them up in the Christian faith.
History is rife with ‘juniors’ who have excelled musically in their talents and contributions to music. think of Mozart, for example. I’m glad his parents have encouraged him in his music, and hope they haven’t made it a burden (it doesn’t sound like they did the latter).
I worked with one young flutist when I directed the Folk choir at a Catholic Church back in the 80’s. Her parents would constantly tell her “you are not good enough to play in public”. But when I talked her into doing a solo interlude for one of the hymns, she SHONE! Sadly, her parents won the day and it was very difficult convincing her to do so again, although she did contribute from time to time playing softly under the vocals. (I wonder what happened to her?)