I grew up on a farm, so perhaps part of the mystique of church bells has to do with the quiet yet insistent intrusion the bells chime into the sonic ecology of the city or town in which they are rung.
The only thing typically rung on farm yards was the dinner bell, or the barn telephone. So church bells were quite a step up from that.
My fascination with bells increased when I lived and traveled in Germany for three months back in 2002. I blogged about them while traveling there (forgive the grammar and typos, I had to blog quickly at little internet cafés and had limited access):
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My fascination with bells increased when I lived and traveled in Germany for three months back in 2002. I blogged about them while traveling there (forgive the grammar and typos, I had to blog quickly at little internet cafés and had limited access):
This past weekend was the equivalent of Thanksigiving in Germany. Literal translation would be the harvest thanks festival. Like many harvest festivals in churches in the states, they gather a lot of produce together and display it in front of the altar. In the case of the congregation I visited, they also brought in a fleet of cute kindergarten children to sing songs and do miniature skits. Normally, on any given Sunday, the church (I think most churches) has about 50 people in attendance, max, most of them older. This particular Sunday is the Easter or Christmas of Germany, with lots of adults coming to see their children, nieces, and nephews sing. It was so interesting to observe this, because at least a couple of times I've worked in congregations where it was the norm for half of the congregation to be children, but Ive never seen anything like this in Germany. What was weird, and I think this was true of my feelings as well as the pastors, was that by the end of hte service, you kind of yearn for the quiet and peace of the smaller service, and wonder why the children have to be so noisy all the time. Which goes to show how much the missionary impulse can be quelled by weaks of getting used to small numbers in the building.Not long after returning to the U.S. from Germany, I went on a Dorothy Sayers binge and read all of her Peter Wimsey mysteries. One in particular, The Nine Tailors, includes in-depth description of the very complicated (and almost incomprehensible to the layperson) practice of "ringing the peals." If you would like a bit of exposure to this esoteric art, visit http://ringing.org/main/pages/change-ringing
After the service, attended a very nice one year celebration of the installation of new church bells. More on this to come, but the basics can be uttered now, because they are so interesting. Last year the whole congregation gathered to see the smelting and production of the new church bells, four in all. Then they gathered a few weeks later to see them lifted up and installed in the steeple. The largest of the bells weighs approximately 6000 pounds! The first bell is called the Dominican bell, the second is the prayer bell, the third is the cross bell, and the fourth is the baptism bell. Each is decorated with appropriate insignias and art. Gorgeous. These are the bells that ring every fifteen minutes in teh village, and for ten minutes prior to each worship service in teh church. Altogether, the bells cost $230,000 dollars, not including installation! But bells are an essential part of the architectural life of virtually any community in Germany, so...
We watched a video of last years celebration and installation, drank coffee and new wine, had a wonderful time.
Some churches I have served have digital or electronic bells. Although these are not as rich and gorgeous as the real thing, they are also considerably less expensive (see again the blog post above), and get the job done. They chime some great Christian hymnody out into the neighborhood. It's a treat for me if I happen to walk from our church over to the elementary school for lunch with my son at precisely the time the bells from our church begin to chime.
Finally, I had the pleasure of ringing bells often when serving as pastor at East Koshkonong Lutheran Church in Cambridge, Wisconsin. East Koshkonong was just around the corner from First East Koshkonong, and during the middle part of the last century, the klokkers of both churches would sit and have coffee together, and then walk/climb to their respective churches to ring the bells in a kind of unison to call people to worship. I love this story, because it represents the unity of the church even in the midst of its disunity. Two churches, divided by a theological battle in the 19th century, were still united by their klokkers having coffee in the church basement before corporate worship.
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Evangelical Lutheran Worship
Guidelines for Ringing Church Bells
Introduction
Church bells are used primarily to call people to worship and to announce the beginning of a service. The bells also ring out to express joy, to announce death, to invite people to pray, and to encourage the absent to join in the prayers of the church. Through the centuries, certain customs have developed regarding the use of church bells.
A single bell
A single bell may be rung:
1. on the eve of all Sundays and principal festivals (seven times) to anticipate the celebration of the coming day
2. at early morning on all Sundays and principal festivals (seven times) to announce the arrival of the day
3. one-half hour before and one-quarter hour before each service (seven times) to call the faithful to worship
4. at the hour of each service (seven times, a pause, then three single notes) to announce the immediate beginning of worship
5. on weekdays (excluding principal festivals) at early morning, noon, and evening (three times, a pause, then seven times) to remind the community of the responsibility for daily prayer
6. at a marriage
a. when the marriage service begins (seven times)
b. as the marriage party leaves the church
7. at death
a. at intervals of three to seven seconds to announce the death of a member of the congregation (the "passing" bell); in some traditions, the bell is tolled the number of years that the person lived
b. as the funeral cortege approaches the church and as the body is carried into the church
c. as the body is carried from the church
8. throughout the Lord's Prayer at all services (except in Holy Week) to invite those in the community to join in praying the Lord's Prayer
9. throughout the singing of the canticle of praise or the first sung alleluia in the Vigil of Easter to sound the church's joy at the resurrection
A peal
A peal usually consists of three bells—a small bell (the prayer bell, or the Our Father bell), a medium bell, and a large bell (the Domina, or the tolling bell). Sometimes a peal consists of five bells.
The peal of all the bells (plenum) may be rung until the largest bell has rung seven times:
1. on the eve of all Sundays and principal festivals to anticipate the celebration of the coming day
2. at early morning on all Sundays and principal festivals to announce the arrival of the day
3. at a marriage
a. when the marriage service begins
b. as the marriage party leaves the church
4. throughout the singing of the canticle of praise or the first sung alleluia in the Vigil of Easter to sound the church's joy at the resurrection
Other customs and practices
One-half hour before each service on all Sundays and principal festivals, the smallest bell may be rung (seven times). One-quarter hour before each service on all Sundays and principal festivals, the smallest and medium bells may be rung (seven times).
At the hour of each service on all Sundays and principal festivals, the peal may be rung, then a pause, then the largest bell is rung three times.
On weekdays (excluding principal festivals) at early morning, noon, and evening, the smallest bell may be rung (three times, a pause, then seven times) to remind the community of the responsibility for daily prayer.
On Fridays (except Good Friday, when all the bells are silent) the largest bell may be tolled (seven times) at 3 p.m. to remind the community of the death of Christ.
Throughout the Lord's Prayer at all services (except in Holy Week), the smallest bell may be rung to invite those in the community to join in praying the Lord's Prayer.
The largest bell may be tolled to announce a death, as the funeral cortege approaches the church, as the body is carried into the church, and as the body is carried from the church.
When bells are silent
All the bells are silent from the beginning of the Maundy Thursday liturgy until the canticle of praise or the first sung alleluia at the Vigil of Easter (or at the first service of Easter). This absence of bell ringing reminds the community of the passion and death of Christ and serves to heighten the joy at the resurrection.
From Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2012 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved.
Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #38107.
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