In April, a member of a Facebook group posted about her church handbells. She said that, while her church used to have three different bell choirs in the 1990s, they now have one group that has recently dwindled to a quartet. As a result, the pastor posed the question whether the church is the place for a handbell choir and what handbells add to worship.
There were many Facebook responses, and some Handbell Musicians of America staff and Board members mulled this over. There might be more of you out there fielding this question, so I decided to devote this month to providing my answer. What is the value of a church handbell choir?
I find it fascinating that the church pastor asked the question. While I might not suggest one take an adversarial position, I think if the question were posed to me I would definitely inquire why the pastor (or music director as the case may be) asked. Did they also ask the value of the vocal choir? The organist? The worship band or other musicians? As a reminder, I Corinthians speaks of the gifts of the spirit: “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” The analogy is clear for someone who follows the tenets of the Bible.
So perhaps the problem is that the pastor values the handbells on a lesser level. Perhaps even more because now the program includes only four people. If we again focus on the Bible, I wonder whether Jesus would decide that there isn’t enough of something so it has to go. Quite the contrary, Jesus tended to look around for the “least of these” in order to show their worth. Where there were crowds of people, He would pick out just one to speak to. Where there were people ostracized because they were poor or lame, He would touch them, sit or eat with them. He went out of his way to put those who society marginalized as “not enough” into the center of His world. Using Jesus as a role model, the least of musical programs should be included in our churches in order to “make a joyful noise unto the Lord.”
On a pedagogical level, handbell people understand (and maybe the pastor should be reminded) that handbells are a great vehicle for teaching people about music. No other instrument better demonstrates physically so many elements of music (melody, harmony, rhythm, dynamics, meter) by the sheer act of playing the instrument itself. While other instruments might contain some of those elements, and individuals might be able to play those instruments after much practice, handbells have the unique ability to teach a variety of musical elements quickly to individuals — individuals can fairly quickly learn how to master the instrument as well.
What I consider to be the most important reason to have a church handbell team is just that: handbells are the church’s best representation of a team. If an alto is sick, there are (hopefully) four more altos to sing that part. But handbells truly depict the words of I Corinthians 12:12-27: “The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet…on the contrary, the parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor…if one member suffers, all suffer together, if one member is honored, all rejoice together…now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” The greatest thing about a handbell choir is that ALL are needed. The music struggles when even one person is missing. Even if that person is not a strong musician, they are still needed in order to successfully create music. And people need to feel needed — even those who seem to be extremely competent and in control. While the bell choir might not be the place in the church for everyone, it just might be the one place where certain individuals can create, make music, fill their soul, and praise God. It is the one place where they can also feel needed to be a part of a larger team. Isn’t that tantamount to the message of God — that we are ALL loved and accepted?
When a pastor wonders why have a handbell choir, the best answer is because it mirrors the body of Christ. Romans 12:5 says “…so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” We are separate ringers doing our own thing, and yet we’re interconnected and need each other in order to be one whole unit. And the Bible doesn’t say that everyone must be perfect in order to be members of the body, does it? If a pastor wonders why the handbell choir isn’t perfect, remind him or her about I Corinthians 1:27: “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”
The church handbell choir is not about its individual musicians. It’s not about the size of the group (although maybe the size of the group is indicative of the effort the church leaders put into cultivating the program). It’s about a team of individuals who come together to make a joyful noise to God. But the purpose of the team is different. A sports team reinforces the idea that winning is the most important thing, and weak links are usually discarded. In a handbell team, success is found by including everyone and building up those individuals who struggle in order to create something beautiful together. A handbell team reinforces the idea that you need to work together in order to achieve something great. In a handbell choir, the individuals are stronger because they are together, and their music is that much more joyful because they are working as one.
P.L. Grove [email protected]
P.L. Grove President |
