Have you ever been called to a worship service by the sounds of a ringing bell? If you lived near St. Tim’s about 30 years ago, that may have been a regular occurrence for you. Ever since Edward’s Hall was built and became our initial worship space many years ago, a bell has been in place on the breezeway roof above the entrance to the main office. At some point in time, the practice of ringing the bell on Sunday mornings was discontinued, but the bell remained. Three years ago the bell and support platform were disassembled in order to replace a section of the roof that had deteriorated, but the bell remained on the roof, laying on its side, waiting.
As a congregation we’ve been encouraged to dream together about a vision for what St. Timothy’s could become. Last year a team dreamed about a “refresh” for our Memorial Garden. This vision included the possibility of relocating the bell to ground level somewhere in the garden. This week the bell was temporarily placed in the garden to “see how it feels”, and it’s hoped that it can serve as a reminder for all of us to continue to dream about how our gifts can be used to make a joyful noise unto the Lord.