Courtesy photo
At far right, the 1740 English bell at St. Peter's-San Pedro Church in Salem
St. Peter’s-San Pedro Church in Salem will honor the life of President Jimmy Carter with the tolling of its 1740 bell at 5:20 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 9 as the late president’s remains are laid to rest in Plains, Ga., just as the church has done at the death of every United States president since the nation was founded.
Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo will join the Rev. Nathan Ives, the rector of St. Peter's-San Pedro, and the church's two wardens to do the honors.
The bell, one of the oldest church bells in the United States, was cast in Gloucester, England, for St. Peter’s Church in Salem in 1740 by famous bell founder Abel Rudhall.
Courtesy photo
St. Peter's-San Pedro Church in Salem
“We will climb the ladders of our bell tower on Thursday, four decks up, to ring our historic bell by hand for President Jimmy Carter,” said Radhamés Reynoso, the senior warden of the bilingual St. Peter's-San Pedro Church, said, in Spanish, according to a news release from the church. “It will be an honor to recognize President Carter’s service to our nation with 100 tolls on our historic bell and keep the tradition of our church and bell alive,” added Rob Surabian, the church's junior warden.
According to the church, the 1740 bell woke Salem residents at 5 a.m. and sent them to bed at 9 p.m. every day, and called them to church on Sundays for 145 years before being moved to an unswingable position in the tower when the parish acquired a 10-bell carillon in 1885. Since then, the English bell has been rung by hand on special occasions and at the death of every U.S. president. The 10-bell carillon rings prayers and hymns every day.
“The ‘new bells’ ring the Angelus Prayer for Mary four times a day year-round, play the Black national anthem 'Lift Every Voice and Sing' at noon time, sing two hymns in English and Spanish at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., and ring for three minutes at 7 p.m. still today in honor of all of our dedicated COVID workers throughout the crisis,” the rector, the Rev. Nathan Ives, said in the news release.
The bilingual and multicultural parish in the center of historic Salem is in the process of raising funds to restore the 1740 bell to full swinging functionality again by 2026, when the United States will celebrate its 250th birthday.
Established in 1733 by Philip English, one of the accused in the Salem witch trials, St. Peter’s is the first Anglican church in Salem and expresses a deep commitment to spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ and loving its neighbors through social justice work in its community.