 |
 Four
members of Trinity Anglican Church in Bearbrook lift
a new bell into place in the church's belfry. The
bell was donated to replace the church's original
bell which was stolen last May. FRED SHERWIN PHOTO |
For the past
year, the parishioners at Trinity Anglican Church in Bearbrook
have been called to prayer by a small temporary bell. The
small bell was put into use after the church's large brass
bell was removed by thieves in the middle of the night last
May 21.
The 150-pound
bell had been in use for 93 years before it was stolen.
Church warden Marilyn Lowe says losing the bell was like
losing the church's soul.
"It left
an empty feeling � as if something wasn't right,� says Lowe.
The church
had been searching for a replacement bell for months before
the Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Chesterville finally
answered their prayers with a 250-pound brass bell which
is nearly twice the size of the old one.
"It means
everything to have it back because it's always been there
since 1925 and the service didn't start until they rung
that bell,� says Lowe.
Other
the years, the bell was rung for countless weddings, baptisms
and even funerals over the generations.
It took
a crane donated by Vars Concrete and plenty of elbow grease
to install the new bell. The job was left to four church
members who had to build a new base for the bell's cradle
before lifting it into place and attaching the clanger.
The bell
will be used for the first time before the church's annual
Memorial Service on Father's Day.
Unfortunately,
the man whose job it was to ring the bell for more than
three decades won't be there to hear the new bell. Francis
Coburn passed away on May 1 at the age of 97. Instead, his
widow Bertha will likely be invited to take part in the
ceremony.
In order
to protect the bell from suffering the same fate as its
predecessor, the church plans to build a cage inside the
bell tower to keep would-be thieves at bay.
The old
bell disappeared without a trace and was likely sold as
scrap metal. Trinity Church is part of the Bearbrook, Navan
and Blackburn parish which includes St. Mary the Virgin
Church in Blackburn, and St. Mary's Church in Navan.
The first
Trinity Church is thought to have been built in the late
1850s. The original building was a simple wooden structure
that also served families from the nearby communities of
Vars and Canaan. The first service in the present building,
a baptism, took place on Jan. 13, 1900.
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)
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