Council Oak Bells Perform at General Conference

The Fort Worth Convention Center Arena was packed! It was the morning of Friday, April 25. The Council Oak Bells were a part of the opening worship service at "General Conference 2008."  The 1,000-member international body meets every four years to decide issues of church law and policy. "It was quite an experience," exclaims director Carla David. "There were folks from Serbia sitting in the front row. We heard lots of languages in that room. In fact, the actual worship service included Portuguese & African dialects!" The 13-member Council Oak Bells team rang two selections as part of the prelude at the service. They later rang a lunchtime concert in the concession area of the big hall. "This was a great opportunity," shared one excited ringer. "We rang everything from "Just As I Am" to "Classical Gas". We met musicians from Minnesota and Maryland. It was fun!"

In 2006, church choirs, ensembles, bands, instrumentalists, singers, dancers and dance groups were issued an open invitation through the national office of the United Methodist Church to perform at worship services during this important meeting. Groups of all kinds were encouraged to submit audition recordings in order to be chosen for this pretigious honor. The Council Oak Bells of First Church Round Rock sent an audition DVD into organizers in March. An invitation to participate was issued in mid-June to the 5-octave bell team. Congratulations Council Oak Bells!