Friday, November 16, 2007

Bells, Bells, Bells, Bells

There are lots of different activities that circulate throughout the church, but one of my favorites is the Bells. That doesn't sound right. 'is the bells.' Maybe I should simply say I love to listen to the bells. Those players have my abiding ear of respect.

I love to watch them as well, the bell dance looks to be very challenging, but I figure if I was standing in front of a church full of people, trying to read notes, watch the director, and hold big honkin' brass ringers; at the same time wearing gloves, well, I would just sit down and cry.

Those other people eyes on you, the pressure to follow through with the choreography of the bell arm step, and keeping my bell to myself -not knocking out my neighbor..... those pressures under the watching eyes of God are tough enough; human eyes on board is just too much for me to bear. I QUIT I QUIT. I CAN'T TAKE IT. UNCLE UNCLE ALREADY!! oh. wait. I don't play the bells. I just listen. Sorry, readers, i got away from myself. Hoo! Deep breath. There. Let's try this again.

The bell ringers at work church are a lovely collection of my favorite people.

Some read my chronicles, faithfully hoping that one day I will write something worthwhile.

A few others i know through the prayer shawl ministry, we have common interests in hooks and needles and runaway yarn.

There is a ringer who used to order candles with me; an activity that doesn't happen often enough because she is delightful to be around and I don't see her nearly enough.

Another is an artist in her own right- she knitted me a beautiful necklace one year.

Another scurries through the hallways waving and saying Hi.

One ringer grows the most beautiful roses you could ever imagine and on occasion shares them with staff. My desk longs for more of those delicate beauties.

A special friend who works the front desk plays bells but not always; it surprises me how she can just pick it back up when she hasn't played in a while.

There is a special friend who is not a hugger, but she has always been open to me- despite the fact that I am a big huggy hugster. She shares new and different music with me and always leaves a wake of free spirit behind her.

There is a wonderful player who has a heart of gold, she works towards perfection in everything she does and has an easy laugh.

There's the spouse who plays all alone at the whole other end of the bell stage without one ornery complaint. Oh, there are too many to fill this space with. That group is amazing, talented, and so so gifted.

As you may imagine, being invited to sit in on a practice by such a special group is quite the honor, and being invited after you have totally embarrassed yourself by previously sneaking in uninvited, then making a terrible mistake by applauding heartily when the song was not over is an even bigger honor. I think it is important to say here, that when you are one, the only one sitting in the congregation pews and you decide to clap, the echo is quite impressive.

So, I was invited to return to hear a particular piece a few days ago. The experience was so moving, that i have held the tinkling in my heart all week.

If I was a church activity reviewer for the local paper, I would rate this 4 stars out of 3.

One of my favorite past times is visiting and watching and listening to people perform before their official performance time. I enjoy watching the project reach fruition. You will rarely see me anywhere on opening night, but when I can, I am often in the wings or under the pews or in the balcony during rehearsals. That for me, is prime time and it doesn't get much better than that for me.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

So glad you enjoy being an audience of one- come in any time! I would even let you ring my bell !!

Belle said...

WOW! So sweet and nice. Not sure we deserve it, but thanks!