Bell Choirs

Ring the Bells!

It’s that time of year again when you all have a chance to try ringing our beautiful English handbells and our handchimes with no obligation whatsoever.

Bell ringing workshops will be held between services on September 7th and 14th in the dining hall.  Children younger than 4th grade should be accompanied by an adult to the bell table to ensure careful handling of the instruments.

To be eligible to play in the Youth Bell Choir, children should be in 4th grade or older and be willing to commit to a weekly rehearsal from 6-7 p.m. on Tuesdays.   Regular attendance is very important, as someone else needs to play the ringer’s assigned bells if he/she is absent.

The Handbell Choir (consisting of the advanced youth and adults) rehearses from 7:00-8:15. New ringers will have a special rehearsal from 6:00 to 7:00 on September 23rd in the upstairs multi-purpose room.  Both groups will begin regular rehearsals on September 30th.

After playing these instruments, hopefully you’ll want to join one of our groups. I will have a signup sheet on the table with the bells.We ring during worship about once a month with a rehearsal before the service.

If you have any questions about bell choirs, please call me at 739-3518 or 884-6503. Or just talk to me at one of the Sunday morning workshops.  

Judy Barnard

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The bell choir program at Niantic Community Church is comprised of 3 bell choirs: a novice youth choir (Niantic Junior Ringers), an advanced youth choir (Handbell Ensemble) and an adult group. All groups rehearse weekly during the school year on Tuesday evenings, except on East Lyme school vacation weeks.

The novice group rehearses at 6:00, the advanced group at 7:00 and the adult group at 7:45. Each group plays during a worship service approximately every month from October through June.

The minimum age for bells ringers is 4th grade. All groups use our 4 octaves of Schulmerich handbells and 3 octaves of Schulmerich handchimes. Regular attendance is especially important for bell choirs as each ringer is assigned particular bells for each song.

For more information about the bell program, please call the church office at 739-6208.