Handbells are alive and well at Lexington Baptist Church

The Lexington Baptist Church’s Joyful Noise Handbell Choir has been ministering in music for more than 40 years, and the current choir roster has had remarkable longevity.

Of the group’s current membership of 16 ringers, six have been members between nine and 20 years, and seven have been members between 20 and 34 years.

The choir recently honored three of its members with milestone memberships. Pictured above are Kim Sox and Teresa Edwards, with 25 years; and Alecia Bass, with 30 years; along with director Dan Williams, who has led the group for 26 years.

Bell choirs are not as prevalent as they were 20 or 30 years ago, “but they still are a tremendous blessing for those who love and understand the special dynamics a good bell choir demands,” said Williams.

“The teamwork and discipline creates a lasting bond in an active bell choir, and people of all ages still love and appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of handbell music,” he said.

The Joyful Noise Bells have shared their music outside of the confines of a Sunday morning prelude or offertory and have taken their bells on the road. They have played for retirement homes, at public venues (indoor and outdoor), and at churches that have never had a bell choir. The ringers have even played for prisoners at Broad River corrections facility.

Williams said one of the members’ most unusual achievements was to take a three-octave set of tone chimes to the Dominican Republic in 2011, where they established the country’s first bell choir in a church in Santo Domingo. The following year, the South Carolina Baptist Singing Churchmen took a four-octave set of handbells to the same church.