The bells of Saint Sebastian...
We are now entering the most beautiful time of the year! Happy Advent everyone! Advent is a time to rejoice. It is a time that is filled with love, hope, meaning, and purpose. It is a time of reconciliation, anticipation, and self evaluation. I hope the weeks leading up to Christmas are filled with many blessings for all of you!
I thought, during this very special time of year, I would share a personal story with all of you. I grew up in a working middle class neighborhood. No one in my neighborhood had much wealth but it was a community that was very rich in many other ways. Neighbors looked out for and helped one another. Neighbors were involved, committed, and really got to know each other. Most of them formed life long relationships with one another. It was a very warm and safe place to grow up. 
Nestled at the edge of the end of the community where I lived was a Catholic Church called Saint Sebastian. It was established in 1949. It was close enough to my home that I could easily ride my bike there which I did many times while growing up. I attended catechism classes there for many years. Two of my uncles, on my mother's side, actually helped to physically build the church and according to one of my cousins, they're names, along with the others are some where on a plaque near the front of the church.
Nestled at the edge of the end of the community where I lived was a Catholic Church called Saint Sebastian. It was established in 1949. It was close enough to my home that I could easily ride my bike there which I did many times while growing up. I attended catechism classes there for many years. Two of my uncles, on my mother's side, actually helped to physically build the church and according to one of my cousins, they're names, along with the others are some where on a plaque near the front of the church.
I don't get back to my old neighborhood much any more but when the opportunity presents itself I find myself drawn to my old parish. To this day the doors of the church are not locked, at least the times I have visited there, but now the church does have a twenty four hour monitoring system.
One of the many things I always loved about this church was the church bells. Bells that rang out at different times through out the day. Sometimes the bells put me in a panic like when I realized I had better hurry or I would be late for mass. Other times I found them extremely sad like the day they rang out at my mothers funeral. Most of the time though I found them to be very beautiful and comforting. Especially when I used to sit in one of the a pews waiting for mass to begin. To me they were a consistent reminder that God was there and watching over our little community. I have to say that the whole time I was growing up I never once heard of any one complaining about the bells.
I was very disheartened to learn that there are those living in the community now that would like to stop the bells from ringing. They are complaining that the bells and music are just to loud. Although the parish has tried to work with them, and have turned the volume down, apparently that was not enough. They have now petitioned the city council, bringing the local government into the mix.
I was so shocked when I learned of this that I googled church bells to see if any other churches have been faced with a similar situation. I did find another church, in another state, in which this occurred. I can't help but hope that this is not the start of some sort of a slow moving trend. It would be hard to imagine living in a world without church bells.
I would very much like to hear your thoughts? I realize we are all different in our likes and dislikes. Are you bothered by the ringing of church bells or do you find them soothing like I do?
Saint Sebastian has gone through restorations like many other parishes through the years but there are little things that have remained the same. It is still quite beautiful! As I was standing there all alone in the quiet of the moment with tears in my eyes taking these lovely pictures it truly felt like I had come home.
It is my hope and prayer that those disgruntled in the community will find a way to work with the church, without government involvement, and that the bells of Saint Sebastian, like in the past, will be allowed to ring on forever.
With warmest regards, Carol
