The Bell Tower


So I just returned from ur Bell Tower. The owner of Ben's restoration, Ben, just took me up to the Gethsemane Bell Tower and it is amazing!!! I am covered in dirt from head to toe becasue ALL of the tuckpointing that was done when the tower was built in 1883, yes, 1883 has dissolved and turned to dust. There is nothing up there except stones stacked on stones and rotting wood. It is amazing. Scary too, coming down was a real treat.

Anyway, these guys who are here will be here for sometime, as they have to gradually work their way UP, because there are no floors to stand on up there. I got to look at the bells though, and they would have taken me up to the roof, but I decided I had had enough. The bells are glorious and the sound they make is tremendous, deep rich and very very loud. There are three of them up there, one of them has an inscritption on it telling the story of some family, the Steele family, sound familar to you Minnesotans??? They are gorgeous.

Very very cool, the picture here was provided by Jeff Smith.
Be well,
A+

Comments

Anonymous said…
One of my kids recently asked, "Does OUR church have bells?" Now I know.

Wouldn't it be nice if Gethsemane's bells rang & people perceived the sound as representative or evocative of positive spiritual dynamics? Maybe an infusion of the life & love of the Spirit...or a blanket of prayer...or a spiritual connector of all who hear the bells...forgiving & being forgiven...an invitation to pursue an inner spiritual drive ...a connection across space & time to enriching & liberating faith stories & traditions... resurrection...a connection to Jesus...an invitation to do justice, love mercy & walk humbly w/ God...an invitation for healing...I guess the possiblities are pretty much endless...care to add some?

What could we do to offer these gifts to people?
11:51 AM
Anonymous said…
One of these was the first bell to ring in the city of Minneapolis. It will be so wonderful to hear our bells in their simplicity join all of the carillons in our area.

Northeast Minneapolis is full of churches with bells. I really like the idea of this neighborhood telling its own story in bells. What a heritage of faith has been left for us to walk with . . . How good that these bells will have their voices back.

What can we do? Ring dem bells! Gethsemane's presence in the bells is just one more way to show who we are, and that we have a jewel of a spiritual entity for all who pass by. This church is alive and open and welcoming.
7:03 PM
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