Ringing the Bell
Our Church, like many Churches, has a bell.
It’s a large bell for a Church our size, powerful enough to be heard throughout our small community every Sunday to mark the start of Sunday Worship. Among my fondest memories growing up at Wilson Memorial is ringing that bell. What a thrill it was racing up to the top floor of the Church to the bell room, grabbing hold of the rope and pulling with all my strength until I felt the bell move overhead and connect with the clapper, resulting in a thunderous chime. At least, it was thunderous to me at age 11. As a child I felt such pride in ringing the bell, believing it was the most important job in the Church. In many ways it was.
A few years back, however, the bell stopped ringing. It wasn’t broken or damaged in any way. We just stopped ringing it. It became just another task easily brushed aside as other tasks took priority.
The bell remained silent for several years until just recently at a monthly WMPC Session meeting someone asked a simple question. Why do we no longer ring the bell? No one had a good answer.
That simple question led to action the very next Sunday as the bell rang again, with several Church members deciding to take turns ringing the bell every Sunday. Shortly there after a young mother and her three children walked into WMPC for the first time. In a church our size new visitors are easily recognized, so several members quickly welcomed the mother and her children. After a brief conversation the young mother indicated why she had decided to visit WMPC that Sunday. She had heard the bell!
Surprisingly enough the young mother had lived directly across the street from WMPC and never realized there was even a church there until she heard the bell chime one Sunday. Only then did WMPC become relevant to her.
This story is intended to pose a question: Is your church effectively “ringing the bell” in your community? Better said…how are you active and relevant in people’s lives?
There are numerous opportunities to “ring the bell” in your community:
⁃ Execute a warm coat drive and donate to needy families
⁃ Host a themed dinner at your church and invite the community
⁃ Shovel snow or rake leaves for those that need assistance
⁃ Sponsor a local children’s sports team
⁃ Send welcome baskets to families who have recently moved to the community
⁃ Sponsor and maintain a garden in the community for all to enjoy
No idea is a bad idea. The most important thing is to truly get active in your community and begin playing a meaningful role in peoples’ lives. Only then can the church truly begin living its Mission.
