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The Bells Of Asbury |
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Every Holiday if you are traveling the beautiful back roads of Crisfield, you may hear the heavenly sounds of bells ringing out God's praise & joy! This wonderful music is the Meneely bells of Asbury United Methodist Church. The Bells were built by the Meneely Bell Foundry,
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The Meneely Bell Foundry
was a bell foundry established in 1826 in West Troy ,
New York, by Andrew
Meneely. The company produced about 65,000 bells before they closed in
1952.
Andrew
Meneely and His Eldest Sons |
| In the year of 1923 the
congregation of Asbury Methodist Church in Lawsonia, (Crisfield area)
Maryland was finishing off its new church. What better way to top it off
but with a new set of cast bells in the tower, So it was done and the Meneely Bell Foundry of West Troy, NY was awarded the job. On a crisps fall
weekend of November 16-19, 1923 the Bells of Asbury were dedicated to a
large crowd of guests and the membership. No one has found the cost of these
bells, they were probably lost in the Mother's Day fire. Damaged by the Mother's Day Fire the church was rebuilt and our bells repaired, to carry out the beautiful music for the next 86 years. Softly resonating Gods praise & music throughout the Lowsonia area every Easter, Christmas and major holidays. In 1980 after many years of faithful service the bells were in need of repair, so at a cost of $4240.00 the I.T. Verdin Company renovated the bells in the summer of 1980, and the bells were valued in 1980 at a cost of $95,000 to $100,000. Then in 2008 the bell hanger bolts were replaced and the supporting structure for the bells was refurbished at a cost of $13,000. Interestingly there are only 400 of these bell instruments in North America, 10 of them are in the state of Maryland, and just two on the Eastern Shore, with the other being Trinity United Methodist Church in Salisbury, Maryland. So the next time you are riding through Down Neck, roll down the window's and let the music of Gods praise flow through you heart and soul! |
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November 16-19, 1923 Dedication Prayer “Almighty God, Our Heavenly Father, let thy blessing be upon thy servant who had made possible this happy and holy hour. Accept this gift for thy Church and may its use be an inspiration to all the people of this community. May these chimes awaken tender sentiments, reverent impulses, and noble resolution in all who hear their sweet music in the coming years. May the sorrowing be comforted, the discouraged be given hope the wayward recovered from their wanderings and those who seek to do thy will be made strong as they hear the message of these bells. In all our haste and anxiety and struggle of our community may there come the hush of prayer as from the tower of this place of worship is pealed forth the measure of sacred song. We dedication to Thee this Chime of bells and pray that they may bring honor to Thy Name and comfort, joy, and strength to human hearts. Amen.” |
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Page up dated
November 10, 2009 Page & art work by Igor1023 ® All rights reserved |
Special thanks to Pastor Jeff James for the information
and help with this page! This page was written from memory and old documents, if any part is incorrect please contact us. This page will continually be up dated as we find more Thanks Dean |
