St. Paul's rings, and chimes, with praise

Handbells sound praises at St. Paul's Lutheran Family along with voices, pianos and organs.

St. Paul's recently added a set of handchimes to its instruments of worship.

Pastor Stan Pesis dedicated three octaves of Schulmerick Handchimes to the four octives of Schulmerick English Handbells on Sunday before St. Paul's Heavenly Handbell Choir played them for the congregation for the first time.

Handbells are bronze with leather handles and use a clapper to sound, explained Darlene Lacugna, St. Paul's Heavenly Handbell Choir director. The chimes are aluminum pipes with a mallet on a swivel at the top, which vibrates them similar to a tuning fork.

During Sunday's service, the handbell choir played "Oh For A Thousand Tongues to Sing" first with the bells and then with the chimes so the congregation could hear the difference.

"People voiced their opinion (after the service). Some said, 'Oh, I like the bells better' and others said they liked both," she said.

"They make an entirely different sound than bells."

The chimes also are lighter, less expensive, not as easily damaged and require less maintenance then bells, so they can be used by children. Bells must be polished, the leather handles maintained, and gloves worn to handle and play them.

Lacugna had been playing in handbell choirs for 10 years and directing for two years before moving to Nevada. When she couldn't find a handbell choir to be a part of here, she asked if she could start one.

From raising the thousands of dollars to purchase the bells and then the chimes, to proper storage and maintenance, St. Paul's has been very supportive of the handbell choir. But finding ringers to participate was more complicated due to the level of commitment needed.

"In a church of 200 people, I had to struggle to get 11 ringers," she said. "But it's addictive."

Playing in a handbell choir takes a lot of practice.

"Sometimes there are 10 bells in one chord. You have to play at exactly the right time, or it sounds like a hiccup," she said. Lacugna calls her choir the "Rockettes" because of the precision and practice required.

There are 20 different things you can do with a handbell besides plunk it, she explained. You can ring it, wave it, hit it on foam rubber, thump on it. The handchimes add another level of variety to the music they can play.

When they are played right, they are soft and peaceful sounding, Lacugna said. She added, "We play to the glory of God."

The origins of handbell choirs date back to the 1600s when church ringers in England developed them so they could practice inside the churches rather than disturbing the town by practicing with the giant bells in the steeples.

Today, handbell ringers have guild - the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers, to which Lacugna belongs - and attend conferences.

Lacugna described a conference in 2008 with five churches and 42 bell ringers that she attended and how beautiful it was when they all played together.

St. Paul's Heavenly Handbell Choir plays once a month from October to May and twice during December. They are scheduled to play again at the 10:30 a.m. services on Nov. 1 and Dec. 13, and for a special 5:30 p.m. Christmas Eve service. St. Paul's Lutheran Family is located at 1201 North Saliman Road in Carson City. For more information, call 882-3020.