Although the timing is coincidental, two recent events in my town have brought both the relieving sense of closure and the exciting prospect of opening to our residents.

Closure came in the form of the installation of a new organ in First Presbyterian Church of Gallatin. The organ replaced a venerable instrument that was destroyed in a fire in late December of 2004. Although the church sanctuary and a number of offices were restored within a year, the process of selecting, designing and building an organ took much longer. (So will paying the difference between the insurance and the price tag!)

We had had services, with the space for the organ behind the altar discreetly covered with a scrim. But you couldn't help but look at that large rectangle and wonder whether the new organ would look, and sound, as lovely as the old one. It does.

The sense of opening is tied to the almost completed new public library. Located downtown on the main square of a town that has struggled for years to keep its downtown alive, the new public library is a testament to the success Gallatin has enjoyed in bringing its downtown core back from the crumbling brink of extinction.

The town is growing fast, with farms being subdivided and developed into everything from starter homes and condos to luxe McMansions. The collapse of the real estate market has brought misery to many overextended owners and developers, but I suspect a lot of people feel that it was time to pause and catch our breath.

The growth made locating the library downtown a debatable decision. Why not put it out where the growth is largest, some wondered. It was a good question, and the best answer is that the town core has much to offer, and locating such an important structure there will enhance its viability. We also had a tremendous boost from two adjacent property owners, who sold their sites at bargain rates, making the joint private-public venture viable.

The new downtown public library will be dedicated on Nov. 16. People are already dropping by to see the engraved bricks forming the entry way on East Main Street, and the buzz is growing.

Fittingly, both the Presbyterian Church and the library are on main street, about equidistant from the road that divides east and west. In their own ways, each has been a statement of faith in the community. Without that kind of dedication, towns just disintegrate into urban strips.