The women chatted and joked among each other during a break in rehearsal for the St. Francis bell choir until their director, Brother Michael Hicks, chimed the command “Bells up,” prompting them to pick up the shiny, brass instruments in white-gloved hands and begin playing.

The bell choir,, which was reinstated at St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church in Bradford by Hicks last year, is rehearsing tunes for the upcoming Christmas season.

The choir will perform for the Christmas Eve service at the church beginning at approximately 5:15 to 5:30 p.m., which the public is invited to attend. The choir will also perform for the 8 a.m. services at the church on Dec. 30 and Jan. 6, 2019, which are also open to the public.

Until then, the group of nine women from the community can be found rehearsing holiday songs with Hicks once a week in the choir loft of the church. The music ranges from traditional tunes such as “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” to popular melodies that include “Up on the Housetop.”

Hicks, who just celebrated his 50th anniversary in his service as a religious Brother, said he has taught bell choirs throughout his career.

“I serve for our Mother of Perpetual Help in Lewis Run and St. Francis Parish, I’m the organist and choirmaster for both,” he said, noting the bell choir is part of his musical duties.

“This is my second bell choir at St. Francis,” he recalled. “I taught music at Archbishop Walsh High School (in Olean, N.Y.) for 24 years and we had a bell choir there, too.”

During that same time frame, Hicks also served at the parishes in Lewis Run and Bradford, as well as a couple of years at the former Bradford Central Christian High School.

He said the St. Francis bell choir first played approximately 10 years ago, but disbanded when the interest waned.

“And then last year, right before Christmas, (the bell choir) started up again and it’s been going ever since with old members from before and new members,” Hicks stated, noting participants are both musically trained and without any formal training.

“I teach it as we go along, so it works out good — the most important is that they know the difference between their right hand and left hand,” he said with a laugh. “They’re a good group and they’re a lot of fun.”

Hicks said the bell choir rehearses once a week during the evening and perform approximately twice a month throughout the year during 8 a.m. Sunday Mass. They also play during special occasions and during the holidays at the church.

“We’re there by popular demand,” he remarked.

Hicks noted the bell choir is open to new members, as well as men and those outside the Catholic faith.

“Two of our members don’t belong to the Catholic Church … but they come to all of the rehearsals and play at the services,” he said.

As for the bells, Hicks said they’re made by the Malmark Bellcraftsmen company in Plumsteadville.

“Our bell choir is two octaves of bells,” he explained. “With larger choirs, you can go up to the same amount of keys that are on a piano, but we’re a small parish bell choir.

“I think right now, a two-octave set cost about $6,000,” he surmised. “Our bells were all memorials — they were bought by the parishioners in memory of people.”

Bell choir members who commented on the group included Colleen Scrivo who said she is playing “just for the fun of it, and to learn some music and be amongst the girls and socialize.

“It’s a fun night out,” she shared. “And when we make mistakes, nobody knows it.”

Another member, Karen Benedict, said she had played with the choir when it performed with Hicks in the past.

“There was a 10-year period when they weren’t doing it anymore and I was just dying to come back,” she admitted.

Candy Tingley said she joined because she had always wanted to participate in a bell choir.

“I heard them years ago because there were a lot of churches that had this,” she recalled,  noting she didn’t have time to join back when her children were little.

“But now it is so much fun.”

Other bell choir members include Terry Cawley, Debbie Place, Jean Nickel, Patti Fisher, Ginny Butler and Claudia Quinn.