Doug Shoultz
Wrangell Bible Baptist Church
Nedra and I started our second church in southern Indiana in 1987. We were blessed with an old country church building on the outskirts of town with a history that goes back to the very early 1900s. Its construction consisted of lots of wood with a concrete and block foundation. It was built with singing in mind.
It also had a rich history of withstanding storms and the many floods that came with the storms. That history included the great flood of 1913 and the shelter offered by this church building to the local people. It endured as it stood tall and strong.
As old country churches go, it had a bell tower that contained a large bell. The bell served to call people to worship, weddings, Christmas and would also be rung for special occasions. The problem was the rope to the bell tower would frequently break.
By default, I would get the job of climbing the bell tower and reconnecting the rope to the bell. The trip to the top of the tower took me first into a closet with a narrow passage into the attic and then up another tall ladder to the bell housing. No one else would or could, so I did it — what’s Christmas without bells? I really could have used the Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department then!
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem on Christmas Day in 1863 that was later put to music and is known as, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” He previously endured the tragic loss of two wives. One was lost in childbirth and the other was caused by a fire. Later his son joined the Union Army against his wishes and was severely injured.
Longfellow compares the loudness of Civil War cannon fire to the church bells. To him the bells would ring much louder with the message of “Peace on Earth and Good Will to Men.” In spite of loss, conflict and hardship, he still had the hope of God’s Peace.
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