Practicing Faith: With Bells On

Sharing the stories of how MPLC folks practice their faith

By Karen Magee

Music has always been an integral part of worship for me, and I’ve sung in church choirs for most of my life, beginning as a child. However, when I came to Mount Pleasant in 1989, I was delighted (and a little surprised) to be invited to join the Senior Bell Choir. This was a whole new musical endeavor for me and I must admit, I was pretty terrified of leaping into it. But I did, anyway.

Now, well over 35 years later, I can tell you that playing bells with this wonderful group of people has been and still is one of my greatest joys in being a member of MPLC and participating in worship. When I first started as a “ringer,” it was heartening to have those who were much more experienced and at ease with playing bells help me along. I do hope that as new people have joined the bell choir over the years they’ve felt the same consideration from me.

When you think of it, playing in a bell choir is really a team sport. Every ringer is important and every single bell is needed. Most of us are responsible for four bells (or musical notes if you prefer), and some of us more. We all work together to present to the congregation music that is uplifting and beautiful. It is definitely a “united we stand” undertaking. We’ve learned not only to just ring the bells, but also to add special effects such as thumb damps, martellatos, tower swings, malleting, ring touches, and more. Some of these effects are easier to execute than others, but we always give it our best effort and are always encouraged by our stellar director, Greg Schroeder.

Over time the people involved in the Bell Choir have changed, but the camaraderie and goodwill that we enjoy has always prevailed. We work together, support each other, and most importantly, we trust each other. We’re very proud of our five-octave bell collection, a collection that has grown bit by bit over time, as well as our set of chimes and our newest acquisition, the bell tree for the biggest bells. And while it’s wonderful to have these beautiful instruments to play, it’s the members of the choir for whom I have such love and admiration, as together we pool our efforts to ring out music to the glory of God.

Besides her participation in the Bell Choir and Senior Choir, Karen is also active with the MPLC book club, as a counter, with Project Day, Open Table, and the Beyond Welcome Team. Ask Karen to learn more about any of these church activities!