Holden’s Handbells by Jacob Sperati
March 8th, 2011The toll of a bell is a familiar sound at Holden Village. A bell calls us to greet, eat, meet, worship, and depart. Ringing the bell brings joy and pride to children and adults alike during the summer and its echo through the valley has become an integral part of our community’s liturgy. Recently at Holden the sound of ringing bells has become even more prominent. In September 2010, Holden Village acquired a three-octave set of handbells.
The story of getting a set of handbells to Holden involves thanks to many different people, some of whom have never even been to the Village. The idea initially sprouted during my first stint on short-term staff in February 2008. That month during a lunch chat with Pastor Erik Halland, I mentioned that I played handbells at St. Olaf College, and was still playing at my church in Bellevue, Washington as well as with a local community choir in Seattle. The talk evolved into a discussion of how wonderful it would be to get even a small set to the Village to supplement worship, especially in services like Compline. I left after my three weeks volunteering with the seeds of an idea, but not quite sure how to implement a plan.
When I joined long-term staff in July 2009 as Head Maverick, I immediately emailed many of my contacts in the Seattle bell community asking them if they had any knowledge of available sets. One year later, in July 2010, during a discussion with long time friend of the Village, Ed Short, I finally got a response. Ed put me in touch with Malia Johnson, the handbell director at Wooden Cross Lutheran Church in Woodinville, Washington. Malia (who has never been to Holden) eagerly agreed to loan us her personal three-octave set of bells for a year as well as foam pads, and some music to get our group started.
When the bells arrived in mid-August, a few of us with ringing experience put together a small group that has since become known as The Barefoot Bells. The name came from the fact that during our second rehearsal all of us has kicked off our shoes and were playing in our bare feet. Our small group quickly expanded as we trained more villagers in how to play and when the school started the students were interested in having their own group (The Divine Lobsters) once a week as part of their music studies.
In mid-September, Holden decided to buy its own set of handbells. Since the purchase of the bells our program has grown even further. Music was loaned or donated to us by Malia, Mark Anderson, Immanuel Lutheran Church in Princeton, Minnesota, and Jill Mahr, the director of the St. Olaf Handbell Choirs. We have performed pieces for Matins and Vespers and used the bells to supplement Compline, Prayer Around the Cross, and Sunday Eucharist services. We even put on a Christmas concert during the holiday season!
Looking ahead, the students are preparing pieces for a possible concert for the community of Stehekin this spring and we are exploring ways to incorporate the bells into teaching sessions for this summer’s programming. While the ringing of a bell has long been a part of Holden’s communal practices, the ringing of bells is a new and exciting practice that we hope to continue for years to come.