Stolen bell saga a godsend for Gasp parishioners

Three years ago, thieves stole the bell from Gasp's Little MetisPresbyterian Church,and as word spread in thecommunity, a minister came forwardwho launched a cross-country chain ofconnections working togetherto finda replacement.

The Mtis-sur-Mer church was uniquely vulnerable to theft because it had initially been built without a bell, so the structure that came to house it stood alone.

It brought everybody together. It made us more aware, actually, of the history of this bell.- Ted Savage, church trustee

This made it possible for a truck or car to back right up to the bell tower.

Church trustee Ted Savage says someone must have climbed up the belfry with a ladder andthrown the 136-kilogram bell onto its dirt floor, breaking off the metal wheel that was once used to ring the bell.

It'sthe only thing they haveleft of the nearly century-old bell.

The thieves are suspected to have been on a quest for metal. But as an alloy, the bellwas not of much value.

Its loss would mark the beginning of what Savage calls a nice story.

"It brought everybody together. It made us more aware, actually, of the history of this bell," he said.

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The bell's past

According to Savage, a community of thrifty Scots first built the church 133 years ago without a bell, or even a bell tower. They decided to start with the essentials a simple building to hear their preacher's sermons.

Four decades later, a local man, J.R. Loudon, decided the community could not keep a church without a bell. He donated one, and had a steeple built that stands alone, off to the side of the church building.

Theempty bell tower still had names scribbled inside its wooden walls the remnant of the generations of children that once rang its bell.

"It's quite unique. It's quite lovely. I've never really seen anything quite like it," Savage said.

Loudon's direct descendants still live in the area and are trustees of the church.

When their bell was whisked away, it took the50-member congregation by complete surprise. They had never experienced vandalism before. But their shock slowly turned into search for a replacement.

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Where to find another bell?

The congregation sent out the message across their connections in the Presbyterian community, in Canada and the United States, that they needed a new bell.

Finally, a former minister in Montreal, who was also a minister in Gasp during the summer, knew someone in Alberta who knew of a church in the central town ofKillam whichhad shut down.

Its bell had been preserved and needed a home.

The heavy bronze bell was shipped to Toronto where Little Metis' minister, Rev. Ian Ross McDonald, hauled his latest donation in the back of his car.

"It was hard to bring it in and out of the car," he laughed. "It rang out a few times on the road."

'New'bell a perfect fit

The bell fit the Gasp belfry perfectly. There was nothing to adjust not even the rope used to ring it. It had been made in the same foundry as church's original bell andwas more than half-a-century older. Itdated back to 1868.

The reverend drove it up to the tower on Friday and Bart Morse, whose great grandfather donated the first bell, was the first person to ring it that Sunday.

"For those who didn't know and had missed the sound for nearly three years, it was a beautiful surprise," said Savage.

Now, the new bell has been removed from its tower for the winter, when the church shuts down for the season. The congregation does not want to lose a second one.

Though, Savage still hopes the original will one day return.

This weekprovincial police reunited a church in Sawyerville, in Eastern Townships, with its stolen bell.

"These things have a tendency to show up," Savage said.

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