The sound of the Church calling bell wafts out across the quiet countryside in the Sabbath morn. It is clear and sweet, touching the strings to the heart. The bell is old, older than anybody within the sound of its voice. The old bell is the voice of their church, never changing though pastors come and go.
It is the same in any rural community. Folks in many small towns hold to this, too. Even though their church may have electric chimes, they refuse to part with their old bell which still calls them to Sunday worship and to prayer-meeting. But for some reason, country golks have a closer affinity for their bells than city folks. Perhaps, it is because country folks pay more attention to a bell’s ring. Or maybe it’s because there’s clear listening and not a million sounds drumming their ears.
Bells in the country and in small towns, where Sunday is a quiet time, ring clear and true. Because of this, many a man can often sense the ways of the weather by the sound of the church bell. They can tell what tomorrow’s weather is going to be by the church bell’s muffled hollowness or its crisp clarity.
On a clear, cold night in the country, the sound of a church bell can be heard for miles. And on a bright, sunny Sabbath morning, the notes come floating down the valley and into the house.
There was a time in the not too distant past when the church bell was a sort of town crier. It spoke of deaths, of fire, of war and of peace. It called out if a child was lost or if somebody had been drowned. It spoke with urgency and folks stopped whatever they were doing and hurried to the church. As such times it wild clanging notes set the echoes flying.
In a lot of towns, there was a time when anybody in the community died, the church bell tolled out the number of years that person had lived.
For those who grew up with the sound of the old church bell in their ears, its tone and range engendered pride and a thing to be cherished. Somehow, it sang the heart to rest. And the sound of it, sweet and clear, never fails to touch the strings of the heart.