Our pipe organ has reached the end of its life.

Those who attended last year’s Nine Lessons and Carols may remember it breaking down at the beginning of the service. Despite several attempts to repair it, the organ has continued to fail, and we have now received professional advice that it is time to replace it.

We are raising £60,000 towards the purchase and installation of a dependable new organ for St John’s Church, Milford, and to support our wider vision for music in the church.

A community renewed through music

Before Covid, St John’s regularly welcomed more than 100 worshippers, but the church struggled to recover its attendance following the pandemic. What remained was an exceptionally warm and welcoming congregation that has wholeheartedly embraced a recent flurry of musical and community activity.

Under the leadership of our new vicar, the Revd Jo Lambeth, parish life is flourishing. Attendance has nearly doubled and continues to grow, with traditional church music playing an important part in that renewal.

This musical development is being led by a younger generation committed to preserving and promoting the church’s musical tradition. Our new choir director, Alice Gold, 29, is a professional actor and musician; our new organist, Chris Walton, is 27; and Ruari Metcalfe, 35, is the church’s new Treasurer and Musical Co-ordinator.

Under Alice’s direction, the choir has grown in both number and ability, welcoming longstanding members of the congregation alongside people who are new to the parish. She is introducing increasingly complex harmonies and teaching professional singing techniques, helping members develop their voices, confidence and musicianship. Some have discovered new talents and a passion for music later in life.

The choir currently sings at the service on the first Sunday of each month, and we hope to increase that regularity as it continues to grow. Chris’s arrival has also strengthened our commitment to organ-led worship and traditional church music.

Our vision for the future

A new organ will provide a dependable and inspiring musical foundation for services, weddings, funerals, concerts and community occasions. It will support our growing choir, accompany congregational worship and give developing musicians access to a proper church instrument.

Our ambition extends beyond replacing the organ. Through our Music for Generations programme, we hope to establish:

Organ scholarships, giving younger people the opportunity to learn an instrument they might otherwise never be able to access

-Choral scholarships to support talented singers and strengthen our choral tradition

-A junior choir for local children

-A dementia-friendly choir offering joy, connection and companionship through singing

-More regular choral services, concerts and opportunities for community music-making

We want to establish St John’s as a music hub where people of all generations can share a passion for music, develop their talents and experience the joy of making music together.

Our first priority is securing and installing the new organ. Any money raised beyond the final cost of the organ project, or made available through grants and other funding, will support the development of the wider Music for Generations programme.

At a time when many churches face uncertainty about the future of their musical traditions, a new generation at St John’s is actively promoting their value and making them accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds.

Every donation, however large or small, will help give St John’s a new musical voice and ensure that church music continues to flourish here for generations to come.