Schoeneck Moravian Church

To follow the example of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to love and serve all.

Make A Joyful Noise

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises.

Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody.

With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.

Psalm 98:4–6

The Bible includes many verses about playing musical instruments, primarily in the Psalms and historical books. These verses describe instruments like harps, lyres, trumpets, tambourines, and cymbals being used in worship and celebration, often alongside singing. Psalm 150 in particular is a call to praise God with a variety of instruments.

In the Moravian church, instrumental music is an integral part of our worship services. Many Moravian congregations have an instrumental ensemble of some kind — a trombone or brass choir, a mixed wind ensemble, or maybe a band that meets just once a year to play for the Easter sunrise service.

Continuing a long tradition of musicians adding to the richness of our worship, Schoeneck is blessed with many talented people in our congregation.

The Brass Choir

Our Brass Choir is an integral part of our worship life. We are very proud of this ensemble, which regularly consists of over a dozen trained brass musicians. This is an extremely dedicated group, who perform several times per month in worship. Many of our musicians are also frequent instrumental soloists who perform solos, duets, and trios.

Our Brass Choir has the special privilege of announcing the major seasons of the church year — from the resounding peals of triumph on Easter morning to the beloved strains of Christmas chorales on Christmas Eve. All brass players, young and old, are invited to join!

A clip-art image of a brass horn instrument with a translucent banner across it. On the banner in a black classic serf font are the words "Join the Brass Choir."

The Brass Choir is open to everyone from Grade 5 through adult. Led by Bill Heiser, we play a half–hour of preludes of traditional chorales before all lovefeasts, in addition to accompanying hymns for several of the lovefeasts.

The Brass Choir also plays for our Christmas Eve Lovefeasts, the Easter Sunday Sunrise Service at God’s Acre, Easter Sunday Worship, Memorial Day at God’s Acre, and for funerals when called upon. Rehearsals are held as needed.

Do you feel you can’t commit to every service? Neither can anyone else! Take a look, and in every service, you will see a lot of the same people, but not all of them. Some just come a few times a year, others almost every time we play. Come join us when you can!

Our Handbell Choirs

Our handbell choirs add another musical dimension to our worship life. Schoeneck is fortunate to have four octaves of Schulmerich Handbells and three octaves of Schulmerich tone chimes with which to ring.

In playing these beautifully crafted instruments, rhythm, musicality, note reading, and how very important it is to work in an ensemble are all learned. Each person is vital to the success of our handbell choirs. Everyone is welcome, and anyone can learn to ring!

A clip-art image with a photo of a large golden handbell with a black handle. Next to it are the words "Join a Bell Choir" in a black italicized serif fancy font.

Junior Handbell Choir

The Junior Handbell Choir is an energetic group of young musicians who work hard throughout the church year to beautify worship with their music. Going beyond basic hymns and training pieces, this group does not shy away from both performing more difficult ensemble selections. They also lead congregational hymn–singing with handbell settings of favorite hymns.

All young people, 3rd through 8th grade, are encouraged to join our Junior Handbell Choir. We play between 8 and 10 times per year, including our Christmas Eve Lovefeasts and Easter Sunday. A schedule of when the Junior Handbell Choir will be playing during worship is handed out at the first rehearsal in the fall and again in January. Junior Bells rehearse on Thursday evenings (September to May) at 6:15 pm in the Sanctuary Balcony for about half an hour, and are led by our Director of Music Ministries, Ryan Morrow. Join in the fun and fellowship as you learn to play handbells and tone chimes!

Please Note: For Fall 2025, rehearsals will not begin until November.

Senior Handbell Choir

The Senior Handbell Choir performs both handbell literature and helps lead congregational hymn singing. This ensemble has performed in local churches and has premiered works for handbell ensembles. This loyal ensemble offers dynamic musical leadership in our church.

The Senior Handbell Choir is open to everyone from Grade 9 through adult. We play for many services during the year but shine the brightest during Christmas and Easter. A schedule of when the Junior Handbell Choir will be playing during worship is handed out at the first rehearsal in the fall and again in January. Senior Bells rehearse on Thursday evenings (from September to May) at 6:45 pm in the Sanctuary Balcony for about 45 minutes, and are led by our Director of Music Ministries, Ryan Morrow. Come ring and have fun with us!

Soloists & Small Ensembles

Do you play a musical instrument? Great! We have opportunities for soloists, duets, trios, and small ensembles to play special instrumental music for our worship services. Special music opportunities are available at either the 8:00 am or 10:30 am worship services.

When the vocal choirs take a break over the summer months, individuals or smaller ensembles often contribute special music selections during the 9:30 am worship service.

A clip-art image with dark blue silhouettes of a variety of musical instruments parts (a trumpet mouthpiece and valves, a harp, a guitar headstock, a horn bell end, a drum mallet, and a violin) poking out of a dark blue box. Written on the box are the words "Special Music".

Sometimes the Senior Choir performs an anthem that needs an instrument besides the organ to accompany them. The flute, oboe, and violin are just a few instruments that have performed with the Senior Choir.

Whether you play the piano, the saxophone, the cello, or the bagpipes — we’d love for you to make a joyful noise unto the Lord with us. Please contact our Director of Music Ministry, Ryan Morrow, if you are interested in playing for the congregation. He will be delighted to have you share your musical abilities with the us!

A close-up photo of two teenage girls playing flutes with a black music stand at the front of the church sanctuary.
An older teenage boy plays a set of black bagpipes in front of the organ chamber in the balcony at Schoeneck.
A teenage girl plays the violin in our fellowship hall.
A photo of the Junior Bell Choir as they play in the balcony on Christmas Eve. There are five young people and kids playing the bells with two adult helpers. One of the youth is wearing a Santa hat. The bell tables have grey cushions on top with burgundy table skirts. There is a banner in the middle with Schoeneck Moravian Church and a Latin Moravian Seal cross-stitched on it.
A photo of the Senior Bell Choir playing at the bell tables in the balcony during a worship service with our Director of Music Ministries directing. The choir is made up of men and women of various ages. The bell tables have a grey cushion with burgundy table skirts. The bells are golden with black handles.

Make A Joyful Noise

An older women is playing two timpani drums in the church balcony. In front of the copper-colored drums is a black music stand which is next to a wooden pew with a red seat cushion. Behind the woman is one of the stained glass windows of the church, and to her right is the door for the pipe organ chamber.
A woman plays the black grand piano in the sanctuary during a worship service.