An ill wind blew on Laetare Sunday! Our little town was struck by severe storms that caused some damage to our parish rectory and grounds. A section of shingles took flight along with some siding from one of the dormers. A large spruce tree in the parking lot was uprooted. The church itself sustained no damage other than a gutter downspout that was blown off. Power was knocked out but that caused no harm at the time because all Sunday Masses were over by then. The big problem occurred some nine hours later when the power came back on!
It was nearly midnight when electricity was restored to part of the town where the church is located. For some strange reason that only God can explain, the church bell started to ring. A power surge? Lightning? Who knows? All we know is that the bell rang, and rang, and rang. Normally a problem like this would be easily remedied. Our pastor would hear the bell ringing just a short distance from his rectory bedroom window. But he does not stay in the rectory on Sunday nights. Monday is his “day off” and he spends Sunday nights at a house he owns about thirty minutes away.
The only people close enough to hear the bell ringing were some very angry neighbors who were trying to sleep. Some of them called the police. Our little town had one police officer on duty that night. He attempted to rouse someone at the church, but there was no one there. He actually gained access to the church by pulling on the front door which someone had failed to lock properly. Wandering into the basement, he found a breaker panel, but none of them powered the bell. He started to climb the bell tower but decided that was above his pay grade. In the meantime, the bell continued to peal.
In desperation, he awakened the owner of the mortuary that was located behind the church to see whether he knew who to contact. He gave him my phone number. Normally, I would be the person to handle any problem with the bell at the church as I am probably most familiar with its inner workings. But, I managed to sleep through three phone calls. We still had no power at our house and my phone had not been charging as it normally would overnight. I later learned that I also slept through the police officer banging on our front door.
Eventually, the police officer along with the mortician went to the home of another parishioner and were able to wake her and her husband. Imagine being awakened at three o’clock in the morning to find a police officer and mortician at your front door. This would put a scare into any normal human being. In this particular case, the woman had a similar experience years ago when her youngest son was killed in a car accident. I can only imagine what went through her mind. She did get them into the church where the breaker panel for the bell was located and they were able to silence the bell.
I still do not know how exactly long the bell rang during the night. Estimates range from three to seven hours depending on which nasty Facebook comment one reads. I woke up about 5 AM to find the missed calls and voice messages on my phone. I immediately got up and went to the church, but the bell had stopped by then, so I would suppose it rang for some three or four hours. In a later conversation with the poor police officer, he said the county dispatcher received fifteen calls, including three complaints to 911.
The police have requested that we supply them with a list of keyholders in the unlikely case this ever happens again. This may be the only time the bell has gone rogue during the night in its 115 year history. Nevertheless, we have given a list of phone numbers to the sheriff’s office, something we probably should have done years ago. There could be other emergencies at the church where access was needed.
We believe that God can bring good from even the worst circumstances. On this particular Lenten night, some people laid awake thinking about the Catholic Church who otherwise might have just fallen asleep. Perhaps their thoughts were not the kind that typically inspire converts, but sometimes the Holy Spirit works in mysterious ways.
