You may know that my church is The Salvation Army, which started in the late 1800s in England with a mission to help (and save!) those in need. One of the very old Army traditions was "Open Air" services - church services held out on the streets. In order to draw attention, The Army developed the bands (which you probably are aware of) and timbrels (or tambourines), which you may be less aware of.
Timbrels are biblical. Way back in the Old Testament, it says "Praise Him with timbrel and dance". Interesting that The Army embraced the timbrel, but shunned dancing! (but that's a whole other story lol!)
And here we are in the 21st century, and playing the timbrel, even in The Army, is becoming a rarer and rarer thing. In order to try and reverse this trend, I volunteered to be the leader of the young girls at our Corps (church) who wanted to learn to play.
This year, our highlight was playing for the General of the Salvation Army at a rally held in Toronto.
Look at those smiles (they had been bribed with chocolate!)
We will be playing on Christmas Sunday at our church. I like to give each of the girls a little gift for Christmas, and this year, along with the usual candy, I will give them each one of these cards (as well as some of the ladies who still play their timbrels) to remind them of how special I think they are, and of the special way in which they are sharing what they believe with those around them.
The stamp is an old Stampin' Up set (God's Children), the silver 'jingles' were cut using Papertrey's Cover plate (circles) die.
Beautiful card,so sweet,May you have a Merry Christmas,scrappinggg.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteOh these cards are perfect for the girls. Thank you so much for the history too. I love to learn these types of traditions. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI wish you a merry christmas and a happy new year.thanks for your kind friend ship and creative blog
ReplyDeleteI just learned something new today, THANKS for that, Ardyth! Lovely card and beautiful picture of the girls...I can hear their music ringing! Best wishes for a very Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful tradition! The girls are going to LOVE their cards!!!
ReplyDeleteI feel so blessed to have met you Ardyth and I also look forward continuing to work together in 2013.
Have a very Merry Christmas!!!
What a lovely thing you do, reviving traditions for the young.......and reviving precious memories for the old (me). Did you know the Salvation Army Bands played in neighborhoods on Christmas Eve while the Army ladies scurried from door to door collecting money for the poor? That was during the years before the collection pots and ringing bells at the entrance to stores. When we heard the Band coming from the distance, THAT was really Christmas Eve. What JOY. Thank you for being you Ardyth. Merry Christmas.
ReplyDeleteHuge Hugs,
Bahb
Thanks for sharing this info. I did not know. The girls look so happy to participate! Sweet card. :)
ReplyDeleteFun knowledge and fun image! They will love it - Merry Christmas~
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing the history of this Christmas tradition! You are truly a kind and remarkable woman Ardyth!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to share and encourage this talent with these girls! I think the sharing of the music probably brought those smiles. Candy no doubt helped, but the joy of the music shines in their sweet faces!
ReplyDeleteWait ... you're using patterned paper ... aren't you supposed to be magically creating this out of stamps or something?! Well, we'll give you a pass this time, you're mass producing them after all : ) Seriously, though, a super fun card, right down to the ribbons you added to match the tambourines the kids used.
ReplyDeleteFunny story about the Salvation Army .... I hosted a brunch for my high school friends and their kids yesterday. While I was getting food ready, I overheard my 5 year-old ask a high school girl if she has any stuffed animals. Nope, not anymore she told him. He asked what happened to them. "I gave them to the Salvation Army" she replied. Jackson was completely taken aback, "WHAT?! You gave your animals to AN ARMY?!?" Hahaha, I chuckle thinking about what his little mind must have pictured!
Fantastic card and wonderful to see you are carrying on with the timbrel. My mother's family are Salvationists too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog today, and you noticed the picture in the sidebar of the Praise Him with Timberal and dance! As you see, I found the card you were talking about and this card and the story behind it is wonderful.Thank you for telling me about it, and I love it, and you also make all beautiful cards and I am now following you. Thanks again. Love this blog.
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