The last time Christ Episcopal Church couldn’t ring its bell, it was because the massive chime had been melted into Confederate bullets.
The church’s 1868 replacement bell served Macon’s oldest congregation for almost 150 years. Following a bell that had been donated to war, this bell was inscribed to peace.
But it has been silent since Easter Sunday, when the biggest Christian celebration of the year caused it to ring, well, right off its rocker.
Macon was the only place I have ever lived that had more Episcopal churches than Roman Catholic ones…four and two, respectively. At various times I attended St. Francis’, St. James’, and St. Paul’s. As a friend from North Carolina had predicted the tenor of the Church was “lower than a snake’s belly”…and I kept looking for something more Anglo-Catholic. Christ Church always struck me as preserving the more Victorian side of Anglicanism. One look at the vestments convinced me it was way too Low Church for me. I’m sorry I was so rigid. I sincerely hope they are able to restore their bell.