Church of Redeemer commemorates parish bells

Celebration has sounded the same at the Church of the Redeemer Episcopal Church for 50 years.

It sounds like bells — five bells specifically, housed in the church’s 65-foot bell tower.

Once the tallest structure in downtown Sarasota, the tower has since been dwarfed by recent additions to Sarasota’s skyline. Yet, the bells’ significance has not diminished in the minds of Redeemer congregants.

They gathered at the Redeemer on Sunday for a concert, which commemorated the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses. The service ended with a celebratory ringing of the bells, lasting five minutes. It was an appropriate finale.

The service, after all, also commemorated the 50th anniversary of the church’s bells.

Parishioner Jacki Boedecker remembers when they were installed Oct. 8, 1967. The five instruments weigh a collective 8,607 pounds.

“I remember thinking how big they were,” Boedecker said. “They are immense.”

Operated mechanically, the bells serve an integral function.

“Before there were clocks, there were bells,” the Rev. Fredrick Robinson said. “The bells would call people to worship. And to this day, that’s why we use them.”

The bells ring daily at 8:29 a.m., 9:59 a.m. and 5:14 p.m. They are the sounds of the devout.

Although their peals are directed toward parishioners, Robinson said their echoes resonate even with those unassociated with the church.

A resident of Sarabande condominiums used to send Robinson a check for $300 every year for the bells’ maintenance — a token of thanks.

In their 50 years ringing the parish tidings, the bells have only been silenced once. They were removed from their perch in April 1998 for maintenance. Boedecker remembers that, too. Thirty years had passed since she had last seen them outside the tower, yet her sense of awe was just as sincere.

“I was mesmerized by them,” she said.

The Redeemer’s bell tower was left empty until Dec. 13, 1998.

“It’s almost old-fashioned. It’s just good.” -Boedecker

“It was an eerie silence around here,” she said. “It wasn’t the worshippers feeling it. It was everyone downtown.”

It’s a silence Boedecker isn’t eager to repeat. She said their peals make her feel whole, connected to her faith community.

They were installed to mark time, but for Redeemer parishioners, the bells are timeless.

“It’s almost old-fashioned,” Boedecker said. “It’s just good.”