Congregation 'just devastated' after theft of enormous brass bell in Whiteway
Members of a United church in Newfoundland's Trinity Bay are astonished over the theft of a historic church artifact: a large brass bell that has been part of their lives for decades.
Phyllis Jackson went to St. Andrew's United Church in Whiteway on Saturday to help set up a flea market when she noticed the bell, which is typically hung outside the church, was missing.
"My husband went up to set up the signs and things. He was there a little before me, and when I got up and got out of my vehicle, he said that the bell has been stolen," Jackson told CBC News.
She thought her husband was joking until she saw the empty bell stand.
As more volunteers showed up for the flea market, a heartbroken Jackson broke the news, adding most volunteers hadn't noticed the bell was gone — no one expects an old, brass church bell to vanish, she said.
"Everybody was just devastated," Jackson said.
The bell is more than 100 years old.
According to Burgess Heritage Property, the bell, which is more than 100 years old, originally belonged to the Methodist Church and rang for the first time on August 25, 1912.
Engraved on the front are the words "Methodist Church, Whiteway, Rev. T.W. Atkinson, Pastor."
The Methodist church in Whiteway was replaced in 1977 by the United Church.
Jackson said the bell sat in the church's basement for several years. Eventually, they decided to put up a stand for the bell outside so it could ring on special occasions.
No easy thing to steal
Stealing the bell would have been no easy feat. Jackson, who estimates the bell weighs around 300 pounds, or about 136 kilograms, suspects a gang of thieves worked together to take the bell.
"We had to get a guy with an excavator. I guess there were three, four or five people who had to bring it up from the basement of the church. The guy with an excavator had to place it in the stands," Jackson said.
She guesses someone stole the bell for money. The church has contacted the RCMP, but there haven't been any leads, she said.
"All the adjoining communities and all of our friends and even further away are like, 'Oh my God, how can something like this happen? What kind of people would stoop that low to steal the church bell?'" she said.
Jackson has been offering an cash reward for the bell's return, originally from her own pocket but supplemented with promised donations from others.
"If they would just bring that bell back, I would gladly pay for it."
She said her great-grandparents and other members of the church helped build the church and potentially raised money to bring the bell to the province in the first place from New York, where it was made.
"I know a lot of people now have gotten away from the church and we're still struggling to keep it together, but to me it means a lot," Jackson said.
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