To help dispel the gloom of the coronavirus, St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church has begun to ring its bells every day at noon to offer some hope during this unsettling time.
The idea to make a joyful noise with the bells popped into the head of parishioner Janie Fries several weeks ago after all houses of worship were ordered to close. She remembered that the community collectively rang its bells on Nov. 11, 2018, to help commemorate the centennial of the end of the First World War and thought it would be nice to do that again.
Being part of the Moose Jaw Band and Choral Festival, Fries had all the email addresses of the churches and sent them messages about participating in this uplifting initiative. However, she ran into an unforeseen problem.
“There are not many churches with bells in the city,” Fries laughed. “St. Aidan (Anglican Church) and St. Joseph have bells, and I have a feeling those are the only ones, which is unfortunate.”
Fellow parishioner Rosalie Boots joined Fries in her quest to have the Catholic church ring its bells. They originally thought about having the bells rung at 11 a.m. on Sunday, but realized many churches were broadcasting services live online.
So they thought about ringing the bells at noon, before deciding it should be done every day. It has mainly been maintenance manager Martin Rossler who has rung the bells, with the parish priest also participating.
The first peals of hope emanated from the church tower on March 29, with a toll of 10.
“… It would be nice if there were a church on South Hill that could ring their bells,” Fries added.
Fries completely understands why all church services had to be suspended. She pointed to churches in the United States that have continued to meet — something she finds appalling — even though large gatherings have been banned. However, she knows it will be difficult for many Christians not to meet during this time since the Church season of Lent is finishing up and Easter is near.
“The Church (St. Joseph) certainly has found ways of staying in touch with the congregation. I’m sure every church has; with social media, it certainly helps,” she continued. “I think of how difficult this would be if we didn’t have social media.”
Ringing the bells — even for a short time — offers hope and positivity and reminds people that no one is alone in attempting to cope during this trying time, said Fries. It also provides a message of remembrance and a call to consider that this will eventually end. It might be difficult to see that now, but this too shall pass.
The bells are rung for only a couple of minutes each day, mainly out of consideration for the neighbours around the church, Fries continued, since neither she nor Boots were sure what the reaction would be. However, both want to hear the gong go on a little longer each time every day.
“If there are other churches that have bells that haven’t, for whatever reason, been able to ring the bells or contact anyone about it, they are certainly welcome to join in at noon hour every day,” Fries added. “The more we can get, the better.”
