About Bethany's Organ
When the Organ Committee set about the task of researching various options to solve the problem of the rapidly deteriorating Fouser organ in 1993, there was a strong desire in the interest of stewardship, to recycle as much of the old Fouser organ as was feasible. While several of the builders contacted ruled this out as a possibility, there were other builders who would consider this. Of these, the Berghaus Organ Company proposed the most extensive use of old materials, using about ninety percent of the pipes from the old Fouser organ.

Because of this reuse of old pipework, this organ is considered to be a thoroughly rebuilt organ. This term is somewhat deceiving, however: with the exception of one reservoir, all other materials in the organ are new. The console, swellbox, and windchests are all new. In addition, eleven ranks of new pipework were added to the ten ranks used from the Fouser. All of the pipework from the Fouser organ has been completely revoiced. Also, a new, larger blower provides the necessary air to the increased number of pipes.

To accommodate the new organ, several modifications were made to the balcony area. The supporting structure for the old Fouser organ was enlarged to accommodate the additional ranks of pipes. In addition, some of the lighting in the balcony has been completely reworked.

The organ is in three divisions. The Swell organ is within the large chest (swellbox) in the middle, while the Great organ is on top of the Swell organ and the Pedal organ is across the front and sides of the installation. The main windchests are of slider type, with the pallet valves activated by pulldown magnets and the sliders operate by solenoid drives. The console is constructed primarily of oak. It contains the latest solid state electronic components. The manual keyboards are tracker touch with naturals finished with white plastic and sharps in black plastic.

The organ has 27 ranks with a total of 1,453 pipes, Chimes, and a Zimblestern.