'The Sound Of Joy': Baltimore County Churches Ring Their Bells To Thank Frontline Workers
TOWSON, Md. (WJZ) -- A Towson church has recruited other churches nearby to make sure its message of thanks to those on the front lines of the coronavirus is heard loud and clear.
While churches normally only ring their bells on Sundays, these are no ordinary times.
At the Church of the Good Shepherd in Ruxton, Rev. Arianne Rice heard about bells being run every day in New York.
"And all of a sudden I heard from a parishioner who said, 'Hey, why can't ring our bells at 7 o'clock?'" Rice recalled.
That parishioner was Cynthia Fraser.
She said the idea was to make it, "so people would take a pause and think about the healthcare workers who are risking their lives for us every day, so we give thanks to them every day for what they're doing for everybody."
So at the end of April, they began doing just that.
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"That's the sound of joy," Rice said.
The joyful noise soon began to spread. They asked the Church of the Redeemer, the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, the Saint Paul's School and others in the Towson area to join in.
In total, nearly a dozen churches, mostly surrounding Towson's two hospitals, are taking part.
"God is good and the sound travels to be heard by those who need to hear it," Rice said.
It's a simple but powerful gesture that creates sounds to move the soul.
"I went out into my back yard and started to tear up because I just felt for all the people who are alone and how beautiful it is that all these people are risking their lives for everybody," Fraser said.
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