Canadian Mennonite
Volume 9, No. 17
September 5, 2005
That has a nice ring to it:
B.C. bell ringer sets world record
Abbotsford, B.C.
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Ding-a-ling.” “Dead ringer.” “It rings a bell with him.”
Joe Defries of Abbotsford has heard all the bell jokes and puns, but he doesn’t mind. In fact, to a man who collects jokes, they are music to his ears.
The 54-year-old handbell choir director at West Abbotsford Mennonite Church recently rang his way into the record books by playing handbells continuously for more than 28 hours. Currently, he is awaiting official verification of his accomplishment by the Guinness World Record organization in London, England.
“What I’m trying to do,” says Defries, “is to promote an awareness of handbells, a truly unique and beautiful instrument.”
He became intrigued with record-setting when looking through a Guinness World Record book last fall and thought, “I could do that.” His passion for handbells inspired him to pursue setting a handbell-ringing record, which he was surprised to learn had never been done.
Defries then began the lengthy process of making an official application with the Guinness organization, which eventually led to his marathon ringing session at the B.C. Guild of English Handbell Ringers convention in Penticton, B.C., on July 5 and 6.
“Now I know why no one’s ever done it,” says Defries in retrospect. “It’s very demanding.”
Much preparation was required for such an ambitious feat. To assure he was in the best possible physical condition, Defries lost 52 pounds in the months before his record attempt. He also practised playing handbells for hours at a time. And with the largest bells weighing about 20 pounds, he practised lifting weights.
Rules for qualifying for the world record attempt were exact and inflexible:
• A maximum of 30 seconds between compositions played.
• One 15-minute break every four hours.
• The pieces played had to be published, recognized compositions at least two minutes long.
• No piece could be repeated in a four-hour period. (Defries took it one step further, deciding not to repeat any piece at all during his entire marathon. He had 1,300 selections prepared.)
• There had to be two witnesses present at all times and constant documentation, which was done through live feed on the Internet. Defries and his team had to supply a videographer to film everything and purchase timing equipment to conform to Guinness’ standards.
Defries began playing his bells at 8 a.m. on July 5 with “O Canada” and just kept going, one piece at a time, through hymns, Christmas carols, and popular, classical, children’s and folk songs. All his careful preparation worked. Defries had methodically arranged the order of pieces by key to make transitions more smooth.
During his allowed pauses he did stretching and finger exercises in order to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome.
He credits his team of assistants with taking care of the external details to make his marathon ringing session possible. In addition to making sure the washroom was available for him with no line-ups at breaks, the team supplied energy drinks and a bucket of ice water for Defries to plunge his head into for rejuvenation.
Another source of rejuvenation came at about 24 hours of playing, when he learned that his third grandchild had been born. Defries had known that his son Joel, youth pastor at the West Abbotsford Church, and his wife were planning to name their son Elijah, and he was prepared with the chorus “Days of Elijah” to honour the new baby.
After about 28 hours of playing, Defries felt the bells were truly taking their toll on him.
“I was starting to clink bells together and that’s bad,” he says. “Also I started to reverse bells. That’s when I knew enough was enough.”
Realizing he had reached his limit, Defries decided to end the session with the song he had pre-selected to be his last, “Jesus Loves Me.” His final time: 28 hours 50 minutes 21 seconds.
With all the paperwork submitted to Guinness, Defries now has to wait to see if the organization will officially acknowledge his feat. He knows there is no guarantee. But no matter what the decision, Defries knows what he has accomplished and has gained tremendous satisfaction from his effort.
Defries has always asked himself how his bell ringing could be used for God’s glory. He feels he has achieved a “higher communion with God” through his playing. “It’s been a great experience,” he says. “All things are ‘possibell’!”
(Visit www.possibells.com to learn more about Defries and his bell-ringing record.)
Perogy maker helps spread the gospel in Pauingassi
Morden, Man.
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Helena Rempel can’t sit still. Either the phone rings or someone is at the door. It seems there is no time for an interview, but she puts on the kettle and brings out photos, and still has time to inquire of each person who stops by or calls. She is afraid she might miss them as she shuffles slowly across the floor, hanging on to every wall and corner for balance.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” she calls quietly with each careful step.
At 88, Rempel has no idea how many dozen Glums Warenecki (cottage cheese perogies) she has made this year, but she has raised $528 for the vacation Bible school (VBS) program in Pauingassi, Man., this summer. Last year, she raised more than $1,000 by selling her perogies for $3.50 a dozen.
The young people in her church—Morden Mennonite—have been flying to the remote First Nations community of Pauingassi in northern Manitoba for the past five summers to offer a VBS program there. Pauingassi was among the most needy of the communities that Mennonite Church Canada worked in before program cuts were made several years ago.
“I thought to myself, what can I do?” said Rempel of the need to help.
And so she began her VBS perogy fundraiser. It’s a quiet campaign that keeps her busy. Her only advertisement is an announcement in the church bulletin—with a phone number to place an order, but no name.
Rempel is reluctant to talk about what she does, or to put her name or picture to this effort. “...and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God—not because of works, lest any man should boast,” said Rempel quoting Paul in Ephesians 2:8b-9.
With some urging and much humility, Rempel talks about her life. Several years ago, her church undertook a major building expansion.
“From the first load of gravel to the last shingle, I walked every day past the church,” she recalled. “I would stop and say a prayer.”
She also made and sold perogies to help fund the project.
“I had a container where I put all the money and my granddaughter would help keep track of the money,” she said. “One weekend it was so low, and I wanted to give up, but then the next Saturday I sold 22 dozen! It put me to shame.”
She raised more than $1,000 for the building project by using her pension cheque to cover her ingredient expenses.
Twenty-three years ago, after her second husband died, Rempel did not let her loneliness pull her down. She went to the local personal care home and volunteered.
“I picked up older people and drove them around, describing to them the scenery because they couldn’t see it themselves,” Rempel said. “They could experience the beauty through my eyes.”
She also helped feed the residents, assisted in the activity room and shared times of Bible reading, singing and prayer with residents for 17 years.
There is a part of a life that still “hurts to the core of the soul,” though.
In 1941, when her oldest son was just over a year old and three months before her second son was born, her first husband died suddenly of double pneumonia in Siberia. As a widow with two children she had to go back to school. She became a Kindergarten teacher in Russia and Germany.
“But not for long,” she said. Because of the Second World War, “we were always fleeing.”
With two children, Rempel said, “we needed to find a way to come over” to Canada. She learned of a Mennonite farmer in the Morden area who was willing to sponsor her and her two children. In 1949, they came to Canada.
“He was a wonderful father and grandfather,” she said of her second husband. “I have 20 great grandchildren and 10 grandchildren.”
VBS is over for this year. Rempel is now filling her jar of earnings from perogy sales for Mennonite Central Committee’s Global Family program and the Canadian Bible Society.