Fee Fee Baptist Church

Tag: Handbells

  • Music Musings – Vol. 62, No. 2

    Opportunity for YOU

    Our wonderful handbells will be playing again on Sunday, March 6 in our 8:30 a.m. worship. Rehearsal time has changed to Tuesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. The first rehearsal will be on Tuesday, February 1 in Room 203. Our new project will be directed by Bryan West. You may remember that he played a handbell solo a while back. Bryan holds a wealth of knowledge about handbells and brings years of experience. He has selected a piece that should be fun to play. We will need about three more players to max out on this project.

    I have no doubt that many in our congregation have played handbells in the past, or you have played an instrument that has given you some understanding of reading music. We would love to have you join us! Please respond to Ronna@feefeebc.org or Receptionist@feefeebc.org to be added to the handbell team or if you have any questions.

    Chimes From Crusader Times

    (In considering bells, think about this); Crusaders buried 13 bronze bells near the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in the 13th Century. They slathered them with animal fat to protect them from rust. The effort was made to protect the bells from a Muslim offensive.

    The bells are being replicated by researchers from Oxford and a German university. These 13th century bells are significant because they are the bells of Bethlehem and a symbol of Nativity. They resonate with a clear pitched chime being struck with knuckles, but unfortunately the clappers have rotted away over the centuries. The artisans hope to replicate the bells and have them played in 2024.  I say – let’s organize a field trip to visit the Jerusalem Museum in 2024!

  • Music Musings – Vol. 61, No. 17

    Opportunity to be a Ringer!

    In September we will once again start rehearsing handbells with a performance target date of October 3. We rehearse on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 p.m. The rehearsals run no longer than one hour.

    Up to now this group has been made up of adults, but we would love to expand this ensemble to be inclusive of our youth as well. A multigenerational group would be great!

    Please email tara@feefeebc.org if you have an interest in participating in this ensemble. You will find it rewarding to work in tandem with others to create some beautiful music. It is an activity that will stimulate your brain and motor skills – and that’s a good thing! Come give it a go!

     

    Scriptures About Music

    The following is taken from an article by Crystal McDowell – writer, speaker and teacher.

    Music is ministry that ushers in the presence of God. “Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang: ‘He is good; His love endures forever,’” (2 Chronicles 5:13).

    Music can be inspired from the Spirit of God. “Speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Ephesians 5:19-20).

    Music can be used for evil purposes. “Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good,” (Daniel 3:15).

    Music is an affront to God when hypocrisy is in the heart. “Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps,” (Amos 5:23).

  • Music Musings – Vol. 61, No. 11

    Isaiah and Handel’s Messiah

    If you are taking the opportunity to read the book of Isaiah in our new churchwide reading plan you will notice that the book of Isaiah makes up much of the lyrics for Handel’s Messiah including the following promises:

    The Promise that Jesus would come

    The Promise of How Jesus would come

    The Promise of what Jesus would do when He came

    Prophecies and promises of the Messiah’s death

    Here is a listing of titles from this famous musical work along with scripture references from Isaiah.

    From the Christmas portion:

    “Comfort ye, my people.”  (Isaiah 40, vv.1-3)

    “Every valley shall be exalted” (Isaiah 40, v.4)

    “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed” (Isaiah 40, v.5)

    “O Thou that tellest good tidings” (Isaiah 40, v.9)

    “Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen” (Isa. 60, v.1)

    “For behold, darkness shall cover the earth” (Isaiah 60, vv.2-3)

    “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light” (Isaiah 9, v.2)

    “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given” (Isaiah 9, v.6)

    “Then shall the eyes of the bling be opened” (Isaiah 35, vv.5-6)

    From The Prophecies of Jesus’ Death:

    “He was despised and rejected” (Isaiah 50, v.6)

    “And with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53, v.5)

    “And we like sheep have gone astray” (Isaiah 53, v.6)

    Handbells – Opportunity for YOU

    Wow! It was so nice to hear our handbells in worship playing Fanny Crosby’s hymn of praise, Praise Him!  Praise Him!.

    Would you like to ring some bells? For our first project we used only two octaves of bells, but we have two more octaves available to play. So don’t worry that we will have too many players. For our next project we will begin rehearsing on Wednesday, June 30 at 7:00 p.m. in Room 214. Rehearsals will last about 45 minutes to one hour. You will be provided with gloves and will not share music. Our target date for playing will be August 1. Please send an email to Tara@feefeebc.org to let us know of your interest. We need you!

  • Music Musings – Vol. 60, No. 19

    Children’s Nativity

    Our children’s Nativity presentation is one of our Christmas performance items that is absolutely a favorite.

    This year’s presentation will be in a different format in order to maintain safety and social distancing. Children will be able to participate in person or virtually, depending on your family comfort level. Please respond to Tara (tara@feefeebc.org) to let us know of your preference.  We look forward to hearing from you as we plan this favorite Christmas feature.

    Handbells Anyone?

    What an interesting few months we have experienced! There are still a lot of unknowns, but the general consensus is that in music making the use of small groups is better than large groups. So – handbells may be considered a very safe avenue for making music. Handbell players can easily wear masks and gloves and socially distance.

    I recently came across arrangements requiring 3-6 players. Many are geared toward Christmas themes. Please indicate your interest in participating by sending an email to Tara (tara@feefeebc.com). This would be a wonderful opportunity to share your gift for making music as we approach the Christmas season.