The Psalmist of old sang out to the Lord, “O SING to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things” (Psalm 98:1). Our weekly gatherings for worship give us the chance to lift our voices together and sing of the Lord’s magnificent work in our lives.
As we worship, we are also blessed by changing the one letter in the Psalmist’s lyric so that it reads this way: “O RING to the LORD a new song…” Yes, at Poplar Springs we are blessed to have The Master Ringers lead us in worship periodically as they “ring” to the Lord and lead us to meditate on the majestic tunes and tones of the Lord’s presence at work in our lives.
This past week, The Master Ringers completed their “ringing season” with a concert for the May Triple L meeting and then by sharing music for our worship this past Sunday. The sounds of the bells give us a welcomed moment to reflect on well-known messages and to appreciate the presence of God’s grace to meet us. The varied approaches to ringing the bells – malleting, table damping, plucking, trilling, echoing, gyro-ing, tower swinging – bring such diverse sounds to your ears representing the many ways God’s grace reaches into our lives with notes to refresh, revive, and encourage our souls. We are blessed to have such musical expressions as part of our worship at Poplar Springs even as we a blessed by our friends who give of themselves to lead us in worship with these instruments.
And they are a committed group of musicians who ring for us! Handbells are instruments made for “commitment” that is for sure! Handbells are unlike a piano which sits in a room and requires you to come to it and gather around it. They are unlike a guitar or orchestra instrument which can be packed up in a single case and carried over the should or in one hand. No, for handbells to move into the Family Life Center or the Sanctuary or the Greenway at Christmastime, all the music, the mallets, table covers, gloves must be packed up. Music stands and tables must be broken down and moved. The bells are packed into cases and loaded onto trollies. Yes, it takes a dedicated lot to make that process happen for any presentation. And, they have it down to a precise process too. I have attended many a handbell festival at which choirs of coppers and tins have joined together in melodious concert with such careful orchestration, control, and calm. But, boy, as soon as the last note has dampened and the last “amen” has been said, then you’d better step back because handbell ringers can disassemble a concert hall faster than you can say, “A one and a two and a ….”
Thanks to the Master Ringers for serving this season! We will look forward to you “ringing a new song to the Lord” after the summer break. Thanks, too, for reminding us that “the word of the Lord is to ring forth from our lives” as we share our faith this week (1 Thes. 1:8)!
In the Love of Jesus,
Tony Tench