DEDICATION OF THE BELL TOWER NOVEMBER 24, 2013 Today we are joined by a great host of people who are here, but only in spirit. They are the folk who across the last 90 or so years have longed to see this old bell enshrined in a tower. It all started in the 1920’s when our present sanctuary building was being built. It took shape again in 1949 when the sanctuary was enlarged and an educational building added, some envisioned a tower there where the two buildings joined. Finally, in the 70’s when the idea acquired new energy, but the obstacles were too great. The money that had been contributed was used to buy our first hand bells. For so many of our older folks this marks the completion of a long-held dream. There are three fascinating stories about this old bell buried in the pages of our history. The first one came just after the completion of the old wooden building that stood right here. It was 1837 when one morning a young lawyer wrote a note to his lady friend and summoned a small black boy to deliver it to a house over beyond the church. He cautioned the lad not to enter the ladies house without first ringing the bell. This child had never heard of a door bell. In a matter or moments another gentleman stopped him from entering the church house, asking about his intentions. The boy was about to ring the church bell before delivering the note. The editor of the paper, in reporting this incident, spoke with some relief that the church bell had not been rung as many of the citizens might have thought that a fire or some calamity was in progress. The second story relates to the calling of our pastor for the year of 1881, R.J. Willingham. On the Saturday before his first Sunday, January 5, he set out on his sorrel pony for the 20 mile ride from Talbotton to Thomaston. Probably after he crossed the river, the cold, damp weather turned into a regular blizzard, like we had in 1973. Soon the pony got caught in deepening drifts of snow. The preacher had to spend the night in a house beside the road. The next morning, clear and cold, the youngest pastor set out again in snow nearly a foot deep. Finally, he reached a spot on what we call the Old Talbotton Road, where he could hear this church bell ringing in the distance and he followed its inviting tones all the way to the church house. The third tale is more humorous. Victor Thurston used to tell this story on himself. He was just 21 years old and had the job of ringing the church bell. For funerals he would toll the bell while the mourners walked from the church to the cemetery over behind R.E. Lee. That normally took a set number of minutes then Victor’s job would be over. But on a cold January day, when the notable lawyer-preacher, J. Young Allen, was being buried, Victor got carried away with the tolling and just kept on pulling on the rope. Finally, before he thought about it, the church opened and deacon chairman W.E. Adams said, “Victor, you can stop tolling the bell now. The funeral has been over for 15 minutes.” Those three stories tell us about three uses of this old bell. First, it was used to call the people to Bible study and worship. Second, it joined the church in expressing its grief over the loss of a saint. And, finally, and very importantly, it was used to sound an alarm. It is my hope and prayer that whenever we hear this bell rung that: first, we will realize our never ending need to study the word and to worship; second, I trust that we will be reminded of the hope of heaven which God gives to believers; Finally, and this is most important, while we do not need to use this bell to summons us to a fire or some local catastrophe, we desperately need to be reminded of a greater peril, the moral collapse of our nation, that Winston Churchill called Christian civilization. It used to be that we could count on our schools to impart Christian morality. The Bible was studied and used in our educational systems, but the atheists have won their court cases and the schools can do little to help. It used to be that the halls and offices of government stood for righteousness and goodness and that is rapidly disappearing. The only instructions this nation has left to keep it from tumbling into the abyss of moral decay and collapse are our churches. To meet this challenge our churches, those who lead who follow, must learn to take firm stands for that which is right and good. We must take stands in our pulpits, in our Bible studies, and yes, in the pews. Our time and country cannot survive with ”comfortable Christianity.” We must be willing to make greater sacrifices and to more readily serve with the energy God let’s us have. If there is a scripture it ought to be, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” II Chronicles 7:14 Yes, listen for the bell and be reminded every time you hear it ring. WHO WILL DO THIS, IF IT NOST YOU AND WHEN WILL WE DO IT, IF NOT NOW? TO LIFT A TRUTH FROM THE ANCIENT CLERIC, ”ASK NOT FOR WHOM THE BELL
Posted on: Fri, 29 Nov 2013 16:24:20 +0000
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