We live in an era when many churches have elected to remove their bells due to the expense of maintaining them. Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church's bells at 301 North Main Street, Jenera, have sadly been silent for almost a year because they, too, needed serious repair. The church council chose to restore them and they rang on Sunday to announce the beginning of the church services as they have for 133 years.
The repair was done by the Verdin Company of Cincinnati.
Trinity is blessed to have three bells in the bell tower. All three are made of solid brass. They were cast in St. Louis, Missouri in 1889, shipped by rail to Rawson and brought by horse and wagon to Jenera.
Each bell is tuned so that they are in perfect harmony when rung together. Once a year the bells are rotated four inches so that the hammer will not strike the same spot year after year.
The "Big Bell," 36 inches high and 48 inches in diameter, is E flat. Its wheel is six feet in diameter. A verse engraved on the bell is as follows:
Die Lebenden rufe ich (I call the living.)
Die Taden Becklage ich (I mourn the dead)
Das Feuer Loesche ich (I extinguish the fire)
(Years ago in Germany the church bell was used to call people to worship, to announce a death in the parish and to warn people of a fire.)
The second bell, 30 inches high and 36 inches in diameter, is A flat. Its engraving reads:
Ehre Sie Gott in der Hohe (Glory to God in the Highest.)
The small bell, 30 inches high and 31 inches in diameter, is B flat. Its engraving is:
Gott Segne (God Bless).
Die Duetesigh Ev. Lutheran Trinitats Gemeinde (The German Ev. Lutheran Trinity Church)
There is a schedule for ringing the bells. Before each service, the bells ring together with the ringer of the big bell counting 20 pulls on the rope in the balcony. (Each bell has its own rope.) During the praying of the Lord's Prayer toward the end of the service, the second bell is rung.
The bells still tell of a death of a church member. The big bell is rung for a member over 18 years of age with the middle bell being rung for someone younger than 18. The bell is rung 15 pulls, then pauses 20 seconds, rung again 15 pulls, pause 20 seconds and conclude with 15 pulls. The big bell tolls as the family approaches the church on the day of the funeral and again as the casket leaves the church.
For weddings, the bells are rung at the request of the bridal couple.
At midnight on New Year's Eve, there is a carefully choreographed and timed process. Volunteers start with ringing all bells for one minute beginning four and one half minutes before midnight. Then each bell, in turn, is rung for one minute followed by the tolling of the midnight hour-12 times. Starting with the small bell, each is rung individually for one minute and ends with all bells rung for one minute.
If you would like to hear them, Trinity's Sunday services begin at 8:00 and 10:30 a.m.
