Silence may be golden, but the tolling of church bells is a welcome sound for many walking the streets of Victoria on a Sunday morning.
After three years of silence, the heritage bell at the 150-year-old Church of Our Lord in downtown Victoria will soon be ringing again.
Established in 1875, the Church of Our Lord at 626 Blanshard St. (at the corner of Humboldt) is the oldest church building in Victoria, and a National Historic Site. Founded by Bishop Edward and Mary Cridge, the congregation also included Sir James Douglas and the Emily Carr family.
A 2021 examination discovered the steeple supporting the bell had rotted and was vulnerable to instability under seismic load. As a result, the bell and surrounding structure were dismantled, silencing the church bell.
A news release from the church reports the rebuilt steeple and bell will be lifted onto the church on Friday (April 11) as part of its 150th anniversary celebration.
“At last! We have waited so long for that bell to come back home,” a passerby is quoted as saying in the release.
The final cost of the project is expected to reach $230,000. A Victoria Civic Heritage Trust (VCHT) grant has committed 75 per cent of the construction and site supervision costs, in addition to design support. That, along with the generosity of Church of Our Lord parishioners, will fully cover the project's cost. Work is now underway to repair and preserve the exterior wood of the heritage building.
"And so soon it will be that this Easter Sunday morning, if you listen carefully, you may hear the bell at Church of Our Lord resounding its pleasure at being in place and ringing as it was meant to," according to the release.
The church not only provides a place of worship and fellowship on Sunday mornings, but also touches many lives in the surrounding community during the week.
Living Edge works closely with the Church of Our Lord in the distribution of free food to those in need. On any Thursday morning, up to 80 people line up at the church to receive free groceries – no strings attached. The Sanctuary Youth Centre, located in the church basement, provides a safe place for marginalized youth needing support and care. New Foundations works to provide orientation, job skills, financial advice, computer skills, and more for newcomers to Canada. Street Hope helps meet the needs of people living on the street. The Table is another local Anglican church that meets on-site. The Victoria Rock Choir rehearses on Thursday night, and Alcoholics Anonymous meets to serve the needs of its members.
