Together We Ring

This Sunday, our music in worship will have lots of different instruments: organ, piano, flutes, guitar, and handbells. Handbells began in England as practice sets of change ringing bells (think bell towers). The communities around the town church really didn't enjoy hearing the tower ringers practicing all the time, and, in time, ringers figured out they could practice with smaller bells without disturbing neighbors (usually in the pub near the church).

We have all experienced the ringing of Santas for the Salvation Army, but the handbells you hear on Sunday are different in that they are tuned. This means they have been formed in a way to play a specific pitch. It is a labor intensive process. I liken it to the process of the potter in Jeremiah 18. God, the potter, or in this case the bell maker, shapes us to make us sound beautiful. In my limited metaphor, I want to remind us that each bell is "tuned" to work with others.  This Sunday, ask for God to shape and mold you that God will "tune my heart to sing Thy praise." 

For a video of how handbells are made, click here.