The Plymouth Ringers come out of summer hiatus to offer joyful rings and a bell peal or two. You will be invited to join us as well! Come to worship and find out how.

And if you wish to learn more about our beautiful Schumerich handbells, join us in the chancel after worship for a casual and brief hands-on "Handbell Encounter" with members of the Plymouth Ringers!

From the organ, two contemporary settings of well-known hymn tunes will be presented: a delightful arrangement of "All Things Bright and Beautiful" by Emma Lou Diemer and a brisk toccata by Charles Callahan on "Ode to Joy."

Guitarist/vocalist Bill Demarco and banjoist/vocalist Lucas Jackson lead the congregation in song at the 9:00 a.m. service with sounds of folk and more.

The Plymouth Ringers ring in their new program year at the 11:00 a.m. service with a slice of Americana in "Simple Gifts" arranged by Patricia Cota. The Chancel Choir offers the exuberant "Fill Your Hearts with Joy and Gladness" by composer Sarah Quartel. The organ brings the service to a close with the exciting "Toccata in F Major" by Baroque composer Dietrich Buxtehude. 

Songs from the Ionian Community and folk rock duo Indigo Girls will be offered at the 9:00 a.m. service this Sunday. Guitarist/vocalist Alan Skowron, bassist Peter Strening, staff singer Blair Carpenter, and I lead you in songs extolling the blessings of God's presence and Christian love.    

Scripture contains many examples of humankind's yearning to know God and often through a personal plea—even a soliloquy. At the 11:00 a.m. service, David Conte's "Soliloquy" for organ begins with a plaintive solo flute melody transforming into an open dialogue of sound before returning to one voice.

The Plymouth Ringers return to our sanctuary in a live setting for the first time in over eighteen months! Offering my setting of the Catholic hymn "Make Me a Channel of Your Peace," this atmospheric work references the peace we find when resting in God.

A Baroque-styled gigue on the closing hymn "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You" by Charles Callahan closes the service in a dance-like ode to joy and love.  

Sleeper, awake!

Two brief versets on the Gaelic tune "Bunessan" by Richard Proulx accompanies your morning coffee this Sunday morning. The melody, most associated with the lyrics "Morning Has Broken" (thank you, Cat), is initially presented in a slightly jazzy chorale setting. Following, the tune transforms into a dream-like state: a meditative repose.

A tintinnabulation ensues courtesy of the Plymouth Ringers! Sure to keep your attention, my musical setting of this term coined by poet Edgar Allen Poe in his work "The Bells" relates joy and alertness, if somewhat ambiguously...

The ecstatically triumphant "Chant de Joie" (Song of Joy) by Jean Langlais closes the service in no uncertain terms however: in hope, in faith, and, oh yes, joy.

It is a Sunday of "musical reunions" as we enter this stewardship season. 

The organ returns! As the result of patience and due diligence, we have the privilege to hear this instrument roar and purr in the sanctuary once again.

A lively and eccentric "Scherzo" by British composer Alan Ridout gets us  started. The playful yet austere "Praeludium" by German composer Hermann Schroeder closes the service with a Neo-Baroque flair. 

Members of the Plymouth Ringers once again grace the sanctuary with my minimalist arrangement of the "Prayer of St. Francis", also known as "Make Me a Channel of Your Peace." While some of our beasts will be blessed following the service, let us be blessed by the presence of these folks and their musical offering.

On this Transfiguration Sunday, the last Sunday of the Epiphany season, compositions from the French masters will be offered. At the Prelude, movement one from Sonata in A Minor, Opus 60, the "Allegro marcato", by Marcel Dupré will be played featuring cellist Heidi Mausbach. Composed in 1964, this excerpt exhibits a fine example of Dupré's chromatic harmonic language and sense of drama. At the Postlude, Litanies by Jehan Alain sends us out into the world and foreshadows the Lenten observance ahead. His performance instruction at the top of the score speaks to us in this time of the liturgical year: When the Christian soul is in distress and cannot find any fresh words to implore God’s mercy, it repeats the same prayer unceasingly with overwhelming faith. The limit of reason is past. It is faith alone which propels its ascent.

The Plymouth Ringers offer "New Life" by Matt Johnson. Joined by cellist Heidi Mausbach, the work was written in honor of the birth of the composer's son.

The Chancel Choir sings Ola Gjeilo's "Prelude", a selection from our upcoming March 16 performance at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center in New York City.  

At 6:00 p.m., music of dreams and transformation by Coldplay and David Bowie will be offered. Cantor Blair Carpenter, guitarist Alan Skowron and bassist Peter Strening join us.