Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Ringing the Bell



From the time I was 11, until I married at 21, I lived nextdoor to our parish church, and loved to hear the church bells ring. I love church bells that actually play hymns, but sometimes the one tolling bell is even more effective--and affecting. I also like change ringing very much, and have often thought that it would be great fun (and exercise) despite the fact that my knowledge of it comes almost entirely from mystery novels, or BBC detective series in which a murder occurs in the vicinity of the bells.

Given that I have a gimpy elbow, I'm pretty sure that no change ringing lies in my future; however, now that I am a cantor in my parish, I get to ring the bell before 8:30 a.m. Mass on the weeks when I am singing. It is no easy job to ring it even 10 times, but it's great. When I rang it on the feast of the Holy Family, it was still dressed up from Christmas.

I wonder if the bell has a name. I will have to ask.

AMDG

5 comments:

  1. Oh, how wonderful!!

    There is a time in our Liturgy when one bell is rung one peal at a time, alternating with the ringer (it's the big bell rung with a foot paddle) reading a section of Psalms, and this continues many times, I don't remember how many. I got to do that once or twice, and that was the extent of my bell-ringing!

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  2. I love this! Have only ever dreamed of ringing such a bell! I was happy just to walk past this particular one when we sang there last year. (Well, now it's year before last!)

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  3. They used to ring the bell beautifully everyday at eight and at 12 noon. Well some people complained to the church and it no longer rings, it is just there waiting to rung.

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  4. Lovely! I just realized I have not read anything from you in some months. I hope all is well! 🙏🕯☦💙

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