Starting last March, 12 focused, hard-working, handbell ringers started practicing music to put on a CD. St. Paul Lutheran Sr. Bell Choir wanted to "give back" something to the church, the members, and to the Lord. They decided a CD would be a long-lasting gift; and hopefully, if there were any proceeds, they would go directly to the new sanctuary fund.

St. Paul has been blessed over the last 25 years with a strong core of ringers. Many played handbells in their youth, went off to college, and those that came back to the Hilton area were enticed to come back to ringing. In fact, those same ringers have played for each other's weddings and baptisms. Many of the members may take a year or two off, but eventually, they come back to the enjoyment of beautiful sacred music that is rung with so many different techniques and added instruments.

With such strong ringers, St. Paul had a base by which to encourage a few more ringers to come back to assist with this endeavor. Music was practiced for over four weeks and then recorded at Dynamic Recording Studios. This was done three different times. The Studio taught that page turning, bones creaking, and tables squeaking were noises that were unacceptable for a professional CD. Hours were spent mixing and mastering to make the bells sound 'heavenly.' Cutting and pasting was almost impossible with the reverberations of handbells.

With the master finally finished, it was sent off to EMS for reproduction. "Chapel Bells" is now available through St. Paul web site www.stpaulhilton.org or by check/money order made out to St. Paul Lutheran Church and mailing to St. Paul CD Fundraiser, c/o Nancy Reiss, 688 Wilder Road, Hilton, NY 14468. Each CD costs $16 with an additional $2 for shipping and handling.

"Chapel Bells" has already been played for a wedding processional, during a funeral, for shut-ins, and during church services for preludes, offertory, and postludes and, of course, for pure enjoyment and relaxation. The handbell CD contains 65 minutes of contemporary and traditional sacred music all of which has been played over the years during church services at St. Paul.