English Handbell Ministry at  St. Matthew’s

  ~ Directed by Susan Lee

The English Handbell Ministry at St. Matthew's began in 1997 with a group of interested ringers playing on borrowed handchimes during our fundraising efforts. Our three octave set of Schulmerich handbells arrived in August 1998, and over the years we have increased to 5 octave of handbells and 5.5 octaves of handchimes.

There are currently four ensembles at St. Matthew’s:   (see Ringing Schedule)

The Bells of St. Matthew’s is an adult group of 13 ringers who ring level 2-3-4+ music and ring at least once a month for morning worship.

The Spirit Ringers is our young ringers ensemble. Currently we have 9 ringers and ring with 2+ octaves of bells and chimes, ringing several times throughout the year. 

Pax Mane Bells (translated as "Morning bells of peace) is a small group ringing small ensemble music -- solo, duet, trio, or quartet arrangements.

Handbells for Fun is just that -- a group that meets for fun, to ring in different positions, learn new techniques, and to ring secular repertoire. Handbells For Fun meets Thursday morning 10:00-11:00 am

To learn more obout these groups, especially with interest in learning to ring handbells or join one of these ensembles, please contact Susan Lee, Director of Handbell Ministries, at 978-263-2264 or e-mail northacres@aol.com. 

MA Spring Ring ~ March 24, 2012

The Bells of St. Matthew's and the Spirit Ringers will participate in the Massachusetts Spring Ring (formally the Merrimack Valley Handbell Festival) on Saturday, March 24 at the Tewksbury Memorial High School, 320 Pleasant St., Tewksbury, MA 01876. Rehearsals will take place in the afternoon followed by a concert, open to the public, at 7:00 PM. Patrick Gagnon will be the guest conductor. 

American Guild of English Handbell Ringers/ Area 1 Festival/Conferences.

AGEHR Area 1 holds a Festival/Conference every two years. Several members of the Bells of St. Matthew's have participated in these Festival/Conferences since 1999, when it was held in Orono, ME. Subsequent Festival/Conferences have been held in University of VT(2001), UMassAmherst(2003), UNH (2005), and URI (2007), UMaine (2009), and UMassAmherst (2011). In June 2013, the Festival/Conference will be held once again at UNH. More details will be posted here after the summer.

The American Guild of English Handbell Ringers (AGEHR) will now be known as Handbell Musicians of America.