Church bells ready to chime again

By Christine Haines

chaines@yourmvi.com

The sound of church bells will soon be ringing over the Mon Valley from Fells United Methodist Church.

The bells, which usually ring out twice a day with hymns, were silenced by an electrical storm in August.

“It didn’t harm the church, but it damaged the control panel for the bells. We were told it would cost $10,000 to repair,” said Cathy Volk, church treasurer and a member of the outreach committee.

Volk said the bells have been ringing from the top of the hill for decades and have become part of the community.

“The people in the area are used to hearing them, so we thought they might be wondering why they haven’t been ringing,” Volk said.

Fortunately, the bells fall under the church’s insurance policy, and Fells United Methodist Church only needed to raise the $1,000 deductible in order to replace the bell system.

So the bells may be heard sooner than expected.

“We have a couple of demos coming up later this month. I don’t know how quickly they can get them installed,” Volk said. “We’re hoping to have them installed by the holidays.”

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