"Clappers for Christ"
 
     The May 23rd Handbell Festival was outstanding!  Since I was one of the Northside Ringers, I will disclose my bias; but the gift and joy of having four choirs share the same space and time and music along with a bunch of people was an amazing thing.
     My hat is off to Paul Fletcher, our Director of Choral Ministries, who cooked-up the event: from recruiting the choirs, to moving the chancel furniture, to pressure-washing the patio in front of the Narthex---Paul did it.  Plus, Jane Jerden and others magically made early-summer refreshments happen.
     Paul pushed us to the edge of excellence as we clanged our clappers (the moving part of a bell) to the glory of God and late into every Sunday night's rehearsal!
     Post-festival, Mike Gregg and I proudly debriefed what we learned watching the other handbell choirs.  We decided our Northside Ringers were bolder (in contrast to tentative).
     We were more versatile because our ringers change places and bells on every song.  (That alone challenges us to be more on-our-toes.)  This way, Paul can place the better players on the hardest parts of each song.  (For the record, I am not one of those!)
     I offered the Handbell Festival's Benediction.  Since Sunday was Pentecost, and since most churches celebrate it with a multi-lingual service, I used one more language: the language of handbells.
     I offered it to bless the beauty of the time we shared together Sunday afternoon and the launch of Ordinary Time as summer begins.

May the Grace of God
ring long and loud in your life
like a prolonged LV. (1)
May Evil
---if it comes your way this week---
be as brief as an RT. (2)
May God's Hope come
as swift and strong
as a Martellato Lift. (3)
And may God's Love,
with all of its tones and shades,
sustain you boldly
like a Tower Swing (4)
singing out the final fermata (5) of God's Joy
as we go in peace.
Amen! (6)

 

(1) Laissez Vibrer: Let Vibrate.
(2) Ring Touch: a quick sound suddenly damped.
(3) Smack the bell on the table, then raise quickly.
(4) Swing the bell backward, then forward, before damping.
(5) A bird's eye meaning "linger awhile before letting-go."
(6) A word that trusts all-of-the-above, and all of us, to God.
 

 

 

Would you like to spend time with other women who want to grow in their faith, strengthen old friendships and create new ones?  Do you want to simplify your life, find more peace, and become more aware of God's abundance all around you?  Are you looking for break from your hectic life and new ways to energize your spiritual life? 

 

If so, NDBC invites you to attend a special weekend focusing on Simplicity, Peace and Abundance, a SPA retreat, September 17-19, 2010, at The Lodges at Historic Banning Mills in Whitesburg, GA.  Our weekend facilitator will be Ellen Shepard, minister of religious life at the United Methodist Children's Home in Decatur, GA and experienced women's retreat leader.

 

Rooms will be mostly triples with three beds and a bath.  The weekend will begin with dinner on Friday evening, followed by a program.  Saturday will include a morning session, a free afternoon for rest or adventure, and an evening program.  We will wrap up with a session and worship on Sunday morning followed by lunch.  Total cost for the weekend will be approximately $250/person for lodging, meals and programs.