Glory be, Hallelujah, hallelujah! After months of searching, I am happy to report that the original dedication program for the Rudolf von Beckerath organ at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu has been found! And it was only located 7,209 miles away, in Hamburg, Germany. I just knew someone had to have saved it!

Thanks to Hans-Ulrich Erbsloeh, we can now confirm what my memory retained forty years later. I remembered that Carl Crosier had played the “Toccata, Adagio and Fugue” by Bach, the “Tierce en taille” by François Couperin and the choir had sung Ralph Vaughan Williams “All people that on earth do dwell,” (Psalm 100) but outside of that, I didn’t remember much except that the organ sounded so small because there were over 600 people crammed into every nook and cranny! (I think officially the building is supposed to seat 160!)

Here, at last, is the order of service.

Prelude: Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan
—(Johann Pachelbel)
—played on the Beckerath positiv organ, 1973
Hymn: Hail thee, festival day (SALVE FESTE DIES)
The Service of Dedication
Motet: Locus iste (Anton Bruckner)
—Gradual for the Dedication of a Church
Psalm 150 (R. P. Goodenough)
Lesson: I Chronicles 15:16, 28
Collect
(Then the organ shall sound and the congregation will sing:)
Old Hundredth (arr. Ralph Vaughan Williams)
Vespers
The Versicles
Psalm 46 (Martin Luther)
Psalm 84 (Hubert Parry)
Psalm 122 (Charles Woodward)
First Lesson: Isaiah 11:1-9
Response (sung)
Magnificat (Tone 8G Solemn)
Second Lesson: Acts 2:14-21
Response (sung)
Nunc Dimittis (Tone 1F Solemn)
Musical Offerings
Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g’mein, BWV 734 (J. S. Bach)
Wachet auf, ruft uns die stimme, BWV 645 (J. S. Bach)
Ach bleib mit deiner Gnade (Max Reger)
Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier (Reger)
Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott (Reger)
Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend (Reger)
Toccata, Adagio and Fugue, BWV 564 (J. S. Bach)
Festival Te Deum (Ralph Vaughan Williams)
Offertory: Nun danket alle Gott, BWV 657 (Bach)
Hymn: Nun danket alle Gott
The Prayers (sung)
The Lord’s Prayer
From Messe pour less Paroisses (François Couperin)
Benedictus • Chromhorne en Taille • Tierce en Taille
—Dedicated to Rudolf von Beckerath by Carl Crosier
Closing Versicle and Collect for Peace (sung)
Retiring Procession: Praise to the Lord (LOBE DEN HERREN)
Organ Postlude: Komm heiliger Geist, Herre Gott, BWV 651 (J. S. Bach)

If you would like to view the complete program, click here: Dedication Program 1975  WOW! Do you realize how much work and time this must have taken to type? All the letters of centered text had to be typed on a separate piece of paper then counted manually, and then backspaced from the center the correct number of spaces. All the justified paragraphs were typed twice, once on a separate piece of paper to count the letters, and then again using half-spaces on a Selectric typewriter to justify the lines. And all the titles were done with rub-on letters on a separate piece of paper cut out and pasted on (think rubber cement!) EGADS!

Finally! Now I can sleep at night!