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Showing posts from August, 2018

The Secret Life of Church Bells

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Welcome to Real Life . Do you hear the bells? “For bells are the voice of the church; They have tones that touch and search the hearts of young and old.” —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow “Just as I am, without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me,” I sing out loud. Though I’m not in church. I’m walking down a street in my neighborhood. The church bell tower is ringing out a hymn as it does every evening at six. Hearing the bells takes me to my happy place. The presence of church bells is a cool benefit of living in an old neighborhood. The church I attend meets in a newer building in the suburbs. It has a steeple sans bell tower. (Which is fine, by the way. I love my church!) But new churches don't usually have bells. Church bells seem better suited to past generations, my parents' generation. When summertime meant open windows and doors (before air conditioning closed them). Evenings on the front porch. People walked to church, the store, the ice cream parlor.