Justin E. Lowe

WSB welcomes Justin E. Lowe to the position.

Lenten organ concert with Justin Lowe, 12:15 p.m. to 12:45 p.m., First United Methodist Church, 903 Third St., Wausau.

Fish and shrimp fry, 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Fridays, St. John Catholic Church, 125 Fourth Ave., Edgar.352-3111.

Lenten fish fry, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Fridays, The Church of St. Anne, 700 W. Bridge St., Wausau.Call after 1 p.m., 848-5178.Minimal charge for delivery and take-out orders.

Lenten organ concert with Justin Lowe, 12:15 p.m. to 12:45 p.m., First United Methodist Church, 903 Third St., Wausau.

Justin Lowe

Executive Director, Wausau Symphony and Band

Justin E. Lowe, Executive Director
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Justin E. Lowe, Executive Director
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Justin E. Lowe, Executive Director
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Justin E. Lowe, Executive Director
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Justin E. Lowe, Executive Director
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Justin E. Lowe, Executive Director
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Justin E. Lowe, Executive Director

Justin E. Lowe, Executive DirectorWausau Symphony and BandPO Box 392Wausau, WI 54402-0392 (715) 845-2144

info@wsandb.org

Justin Lowe, director of music and worship arts at First United Methodist Church, is eager to debut the church's pipe organ, which has been repaired after vandals did about $75,000 worth of damage to it nine months ago.Rob Orcutt/Wausau Daily Herald
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First United will hold a public recital at the church, said Justin Lowe, the church's organist and director of music and worship arts.
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After word of the vandalism spread, the community reached out to the congregation, offering words of encouragement and cash donations, Lowe said.

About $1,000 in donations poured into the church.The money was used to pay the deductible.The remainder will be put toward renovating the organ's console.

The vandals have yet to be caught, but Sunday's recital offers members of the congregation another opportunity to put the destructive act behind them, Lowe said.

Church members had to look at the mangled organ pipes at the front of the church for more than a month after it was damaged, said Lowe, 26.

Members at first greeted the vandalism with anger and shock, he said.They looked upon the organ as something to "uplift people and lead people in expressing themselves to God."

In general, though, they viewed whomever damaged the organ as someone in need of help, Lowe said.

A number of locks were replaced at the church, and every night someone now does a walk-through before locking up.Lowe said the experience challenged the congregation to stay true to the nationwide Methodist church slogan: "Open heart.Open mind.Open doors."

Within days of the vandalism, church leaders crafted a prayer that said First United will not become a place of suspicion or a place that is not welcoming.

"There's a balance between protecting things and allowing people to come in when they feel they need to be here," Lowe said.

After the incident, the church used a borrowed electric organ while the pipe organ was being repaired.In recent months, Lowe was able to play the organ using about a third of its pipes.

"When you're without something for quite a while, you appreciate it quite a bit more," said Lowe.

First United rededicated the organ at an Oct. 22 service.

"People were moved," Lowe said.

The Wausau Symphony & Band has named Justin E. Lowe of Wausau as its new executive director.
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Lowe is no stranger to the Wausau music community.He also serves as director of music and organist at First United Methodist Church in Wausau.

He studied music at Carroll College in Waukesha and Concordia University-Mequon, where he is pursuing a management degree.

"Wausau Symphony & Band allows community musicians to come together and make amazing music," Lowe said.