The Avondale UMC pipe organ was built in 1929 by the Ernest M. Skinner Organ Company and installed in the Skinner Studio, Palm Beach, as Opus 802. After an appearance at the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago, the organ was purchased by Hollins College, Hollins, Virginia. Around 1940, Avondale United Methodist Church was in search of its own pipe organ and purchased the instrument from the college. The Aeolian-Skinner Company was contracted to move and re-install the organ at AUMC; the organ was then designated as Aeolian-Skinner Opus 802-A. As installed in 1941, the instrument contained 34 stops, 9 registers, and 12 ranks of pipes controlled by a 2-manual drawknob console. Between 1977 and 1987, the tonal resources were expanded and the organ refurbished by Howard Best and a team of volunteers. Additions included a 4' Octave, 4' Harmonic Flute, 2' Fifteenth, and a five-rank mixture to the Great, 16' Bourdon, 16' Trombone, and electronic 32'/16' flues to the pedal. Along with additional expression shutters and new grille cloth, the switching and capture action systems were converted to solid state and winding system revised.The current organ contains 24 ranks of pipes and is entirely enclosed, with expression shutters facing both the congregation in the nave and the choristers in the choir loft. We are in the process of raising funds to proceed with the second phase of a project to restore this fine instrument and ensure its continuing operation and longevity.