FORT WAYNE, IN — Handbell choir conductor Matthew Grey was recently forced to ask the congregation to stop yelling "FREEBIRD!" during handbell performances.
According to Grey, who directs the Magnificat Handbell Choir of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, the choir's performances were getting disturbed far too often by individuals in the congregation who would stand up and yell "Play Freebird!"
"It was out of control," Grey said. "Get yourselves together, congregants. This is a handbell choir, for goodness' sake."
Ben Naumann, who plays the A flat and high C natural bells for Magnificat, said that he wasn't necessarily against the congregation's response.
"I mean...give the people what they want, right?" Naumann said, flipping his wavy black hair over his aviators. "We got a 14-minute epic handbell ride ready to rip. I say we let the bird fly."
At publishing time, the pastor had intervened after congregants began chanting for "Stairway."
The USA undeniably trumps our neighbors to the north.
