One Sunday morning in 2007, Eric McKirdy was standing in the garage of his new home in Albany when he heard pipe organ music. The house was literally across the street from Albany First United Methodist Church on 28th Avenue Southwest. Local resident Russ Tripp had deeded a portion of his property to the congregation, which explains why the ânewâ building, built in 1962, is tucked away in a largely residential neighborhood. McKirdy had grown up in Albany, learned to play the organ, studied music at college and spent some time in the Bay Area during the dot-com era. Now he had returned to his hometown.