Welcome to St. Jacob's Lutheran Church

Handbells 101 is not only for people who know how to read music. No, Handbells 101 is for anyone who is interested in learning anything about handbells. Sure, the ultimate goal is to develop future ringers to keep our handbell choir full and active, but that’s not my only goal with this class. I want to share my knowledge and my skill set with others. I want people to know that you really don’t have to know how to read music in order to play bells. Does it help? Of course, it helps. But it’s not necessary.

What’s necessary is a willingness to learn, a desire to be part of a team and the ability to commit to being there for the other people in the group. See, a handbell choir isn’t about just one person, it’s truly a team effort and takes everyone’s presence to make it work smoothly.

As I said in my June newsletter article, this class is for anyone who wants to learn to play handbells OR anyone who simply wants to know more about handbells.

It’s also for current or past ringers who would like a little extra time to refresh, relearn or improve their ringing technique. So please come join me any Monday evenings in July and/or August from 6:45 PM to 7:30 PM in the Fellowship Hall.

I hope to see you there.

Laurie

The first half of 2019 sure has flown by. We’ve had a busy year so far in the music department.

We started the year by presenting an Epiphany mini-cantata with the combined choirs of St. Jacob’s and New Hope. Angela and I have continued working with the Children’s Choir to develop not only their musical abilities, but also to foster their desire to serve the Lord with their gifts and talents. We have had illnesses and surgeries within the Handbell Choir membership and have had to make adjustments to cover the vacancies. We began a Wednesday evening service to offer another opportunity for worship; a time in the middle of the week to take a deep breath and remember that God has us in the palm of His hand.

As we enter into the Sundays after Pentecost (affectionately known by some as ‘the long green season’), we are looking ahead to the fall and exploring possibilities that will enhance our worship. For the immediate future, our summer anthems will be some of the favorite hymns that were submitted last summer (we ran out of summer Sundays before we ran out of favorite hymns!) and the Handbell 101 class will continue through the month of August for anyone interested in the history of handbells, anyone who would like to learn to play handbells or anyone who would like to refresh their ringing skills.

As always, many thanks to the congregation for your amazing support of the music ministry.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Laurie Lackey

Did you know that handbells have been around since the late 1600s? Did you know their original purpose was as practice instruments for tower bell ringers in England? Did you know that handbells were brought to the United States in 1902 by Margaret Shurcliff? Did you know that you don’t have to know how to read music to be able to play handbells and that it is, in fact, an excellent way to learn to read music?

If you’d like to know more about the history of handbells, how they became part of church worship services and how they can be used effectively to enhance worship, join me this summer for Handbells 101. We will meet in the Fellowship Hall on Monday evenings from 6:45 to 7:30 PM, beginning Monday, June 3rd and continuing through August 26th (excluding June 17th for VBS). This is an opportunity for anyone who has an interest in handbells or learning to ring handbells to come check out the instrument (yes, handbells are considered a single instrument!).

Handbells 101 is open to all ages and all musical ability levels. For those interested in learning to ring, this is an opportunity to try it out. For current (or past) ringers, this is an opportunity to refresh/relearn/improve your handbell ringing technique and knowledge during the low-stress summer months while the handbell choir is not actively playing each month.

Some of you may know that I work part-time at Jeffers Handbell Supply, a handbell supply company based in Irmo, and that handbells are near and dear to my heart. I look forward to sharing my knowledge and love of bells with you this summer.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Laurie Lackey