The devastating fire in Paris has saddened people everywhere because Notre Dame is such an icon of faith, beauty, culture, art, and architecture. It has also brought back painful memories of other beloved houses of worship that have been destroyed or damaged by fire. The 1800-year-old Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem was burning at the same time as Notre Dame. Recent fires, set by an arsonist, destroyed St. Mary Baptist Church, Greater Union Baptist Church, and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana. We at St. Andrew’s are mindful that our own first two edifices were destroyed by fire.
Thursday at 1:00 p.m., St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Jackson will toll our Bourdon Bell for seven minutes as an expression of solidarity following the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and in solidarity with all whose sacred house of worship have burned. The Bourdon Bell, the Cathedral's largest, funerary bell, will toll at the exact same time that other English churches and cathedrals of the worldwide Anglican Communion, will be ringing their own bells.
If you hear the bell tolling, please remember to offer a prayer for all those affected. Even if you don’t hear the bell, take a moment at that time to stop and pray with us.
