The Bells of Saint Matthew

Edition 1. Issue 13.

 

The Bells of Saint Matthew

All of us who reside in Stephens Valley made our choice, at least partially, based upon the promise of living in a pedestrian, small town environment. Of course, most of that promise is not yet realized because the town square promised to us, is still just a promise. Still, as we approach the Christmas season, some of the elements of that small town vision are already available to us. One of those features is the daily serenade of bells we hear when we are outside, just as we might hear from a prominent church steeple in a little town square. The bells we can already hear are part of the ministry of Saint Matthew Catholic Church and School – our neighbor just a short walk down Sneed Road, and we are very lucky to have them in the neighborhood.

Recently, Joel Bolen, Director of Music Ministries for Saint Matthew, sat down with The Valleyist to tell us more about the way the carillon, and its bells, helps them accomplish their mission. The campus of the church and school is stunningly beautiful. The buildings sit in the middle of a multi-acre park-like setting that is just off Sneed Road. Most of us using Sneed Road might think that a beautiful soccer field is the extent of Saint Matthew. Although the field is lovely, that is hardly where Saint Matthew Catholic Church and School ends.

On Pentecost Sunday in 2007, Saint Matthew dedicated the installation of a digital carillon, with outdoor speakers designed to enhance the mission of the church and the lives of everyone living in this valley, and what a gift they gave us. The notes of dozens of bells were sampled and stored in the digital memory of the Saint Matthew system. Nearly indistinguishable from the sound of real cast bronze bells, the carillon sounds most days, spreading happiness and certain messages to us all.

Just before 8 am, we hear several peals of a single bell indicating that Mass is about to begin. Roughly thirty minutes later we hear a cacophany of bells peal for a few minutes denoting the end of Mass. At noon we get a bigger treat. The Westminster, or Cambridge Chimes (from its place of origin, the Church of St Mary the Great, Cambridge) plays just before the carillon peals 12 strikes to mark noon, and afterward the Angelus peal is heard (three strikes of the lowest bell, repeated three times). The Angelus is a call to prayer and is intended to spread goodwill to everyone. At 3 PM we get another performance. The Westminster Chimes sound again, followed by some seasonal music. The seasonal music consists of patriotic, seasonal, or hymns, depending on the time of year. Finally, at 6 PM, we again hear the Westminster Chimes, then 6 peals of one bell to denote the time, followed by the Angelus peal and the Vespers Song.

The carillon also does some special performances related to special events at Saint Matthew. When a funeral is held at Saint Matthew, the lowest bell tolls a number of times equivalent to the age of the deceased. At Easter, the bells fall silent on Holy Thursday and remain silent until Easter Sunday. Since the carillon is digital and capable of many additional functions, a keyboard was attached to the carillon during the depth of the COVID pandemic and Mr. Bolen played the bells of the carillon manually to help us all weather that trying time. That brings us to discuss what else is possible from the Saint Matthew carillon.

Depending on where you live in SV, and when you moved into the neighborhood, it is possible that you haven’t even heard the bells discussed here. In the summer, the leaves on the trees and the warm air reduce the volume of the bells from the Saint Matthew campus. In winter, the bare trees and colder air make the bells far easier to hear. Mr. Bolen indicated that Saint Matthews would like to hear from the SV residents as to how we would like the bells to be modified. So, would we like the volume to be higher in summer so we can hear the bells better? Would we like the bells to toll more often, perhaps on the hour instead of only 8:00, noon, 3:00 and 6:00? On the first day of summer, would we like to hear Beach Boys music? Joel Bolen’s email address is jbolen@stmatthewtn.org. He suggests we let him, and the church, hear our feedback on the carillon and any changes we would like Saint Matthew to make.

When Christmas Day rolls around, try to take a moment at one of the abovementioned times to go out and live the words of the lovely Christmas Song – I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.

William Ray - Author