By Frank Ramirez
Just in case you didn’t know, it’s possible to have too much cowbell–as anyone who loves the legendary Saturday Night Live cowbell sketch starring Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken can tell you. (Google it).
But that won’t be the case Thursday night at Annual Conference as the worship planning team imports a good old-fashioned cowbell service served fresh from Virlina District. Built around a theme from Ephesians 4:1-3, “Love Is Patient,” preachers Tony Price, Becky Baile Crouse, and Josiah Ludwick will be ready for things to turn on a dime–or the ringing of a cowbell!
Annual Conference moderator Dava Hensley recalls, “When I was a little girl in North Carolina…it was not unusual for more than one preacher to preach on the same text.” Often there were 5 or 6 preachers, and after 10 minutes a cowbell was rung and the next preacher took over. She remembers how several preachers sat side-by-side on the “preacher’s bench” and would address the same scripture.
Hensley herself has since been part of several cowbell services. “I also had the opportunity once at Bethany during a preaching class with Nancy Faus Mullins as my instructor and with nine students to be in a class where everyone preached from the same text,” she says. “There were no cowbells for sure, but the variety of ways to delve into the scriptures was great. It was a wonderful experience with nine great sermons!”
As a result of these experiences, she decided to include a cowbell service as part of the worship at Annual Conference. “I knew it would be a learning experience for so many.” She noted that each preacher will get a two-minute warning (just like in football), and when the cowbell is rung after 10 minutes, “the preacher stops where they are.” Usually there are 5 to 6 preachers, and each one has the same scripture text. This could be a challenge, because, as she says, “Ten-minute sermons are hard.”
It also may be a challenge to listeners. “I hope it will show if you think you have already figured out what scripture is saying, maybe not…. But I pray each sermon will be a blessing to all.”
— Frank Ramirez, who recently retired from several decades of service as a pastor in the Church of the Brethren, is one of the volunteer writers on the Press Team for the 2025 Annual Conference.
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