The Bells of a Boston Landmark Toll on Christmas Day

Three times daily, the church bells can be heard ringing throughout the city.  Two children wanted to see them, so their mother dutifully took them to what would become a city landmark--The Christian Science Mother Church in Boston's Back Bay.

When the children--a boy and a girl--arrived at the Church, they were surprised to learn the bells were located atop the Church's massive dome--in a small, circular structure, known as the lantern.  Undaunted, they wanted to see the bells.  So the mother led them to a doorman, who, after meeting with church management, invited them in.  A chimer, who rung the bells, then led them to the stairway.

The ringing platform, from which the bells are played, is reached by climbing 198 steps.  The platform, which is suspended about twenty feet above the inner dome, is at the apex of the auditorium.  There are, in reality, three domes, the ringing platform being between the first and second.  The bells, on the other hand, are inside the lantern which sits atop the outer dome.  The lantern resides at an elevation of 224 feet above the street, to which one mounts to the bells by a series of iron staircases.

The chimer, a man or a woman, has the responsibility of playing the bells, which means he/she has a climb before each service. Moreover, the bells peal on special occasions, as well as on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning.  But no person is required to ring the bells, when, three times daily, they precede the regular striking of the hours, by repeating the familiar Handel phrase which was written especially for bells.  At seven o'clock in the morning, at noon, and at six o'clock in the evening, that the Handel phrase is reproduced by clock control.

Permission having been granted, the mother and the little girl ascended joyfully and easily, but for the boy it seemed difficult as he was slightly lame.  He went on more slowly, but he went steadily until the party arrived at the still more precipitous iron stairs which finishes the ascent.

At the sight of that final stair, the little boy quailed and his mother, filled with apprehension for his safety, quickly told him that he must go no farther.   For him it would not be prudent.  Naturally, the boy was deeply disappointed; he had heard the bells again and again, but he had never seen them played.  However, he could do nothing but obey his mother, who stayed behind, too, to comfort him, while the chimer and the little girl continued on their way.  There was no time to be lost in argument.

Several beautiful hymns had rung before the Sunday morning quiet, when the chimer began to play the one which asks:  "Why is thy faith in God's great love so small?"  Several times she went over it, each time with what seemed more strength and conviction; it was almost as if the uplifting words were being sung to the accompaniment.  Suddenly the chimer was aware of another presence on the ringing platform than the little girl who stood beside her, watching.   There stood the lad, with his mother close behind him on the iron stair.  Their faces aglow.  The chiming of that hymn had dispelled their fears.

Afterwards, the little boy protested with shining eyes:  "Why, Mother, I wouldn't for anything in the world have missed seeing those bells played."

The bells are twelve in number, ranging in weight from three hundred-and-fifty pounds, to two tons.  Considerable strength is required to play them, a task which is accomplished with both hands and feet.  To quote the words which have come from the makers, "All of the bells, with the exception of the tenor, or largest. which is mounted independently of the others, as occasion may require are suspended in stationary form from a framework, suited to the tower, and are sounded by means of chains and rods leaving from the clappers and passing through pulleys to the position of the ringer, where they are attached by moveable straps to the manuals, in the form of levers, which are operated by a single player."

During construction of the church, considerable effort was made to locate the finest bells for the lantern atop the church dome.  A member of the Board of Directors was dispatched to hear and examine all the finest chime of bells within a reasonable radius of Boston, thus to determine who should make the bells for The Mother Church.

Among notable bells considered, were those hung in the tower of Metropolitan Life Insurance Building in New York City. Those bells could be heard for some twenty-five miles distance, even as far beyond Sandy Hook, New Jersey,  The bells for the Mother Church were finally ordered from the long-established firm that made the bells inside the Metropolitan tower.

JOY TO THE WORLD

Today, The Christian Science Mother Church is part of the Christian Science Plaza. a 13.5-acre site at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Huntington Avenue.  In the late 1970s, the City of Boston recognized the unique architecture of the Christian Science Plaza and its buildings by designating them as a city landmark. On Christmas morning the bells of the Mother Church can be heard throughtout Boston. Among the hymns performed are "Joy To The World" which is how the boy surely felt when he saw the bells played.

Below are the words we are all familiar with:

"Joy to the world, the Lord is come,

Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare him room,

And heaven and nature sing.

"No more let sin and sorrow grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

Where’er he comes, his blessings flow,

And hope and joy abound.

"He rules the world with truth and grace,

And makes the nations prove

The glories of his righteousness

And wonders of his love"

THE GIFTS THAT MAKE HEAVEN ON EARTH

Finally, in this season of gift-giving, it's good to be remined that the best gifts we can ever give, are kindness, tender mercies, and the out-stretched hand of tolerance. Think of them as God-annointed stocking-stuffers that make heaven on earth!

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note: in writing this piece I am indebted to "Building The Mother Church," a book by Joseph Armstrong and Margaret Williamson.