Church bells have been ringing throughout the day —and night — in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, at least since 1883, according to the the church's minister. But one family, who lives nearby, contacted the church this month because the bells have been keeping them up.
Pastor Tadd Allman-Morton, of the First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, said he supports changing the bell-ringing schedule to help the family sleep better.
He said the family is a fan of the church bells when they're not waking them up.
"They think of it as a part of the quaint New England pastoral life and don't wish to be portrayed or understood as people that are against that," he said. "The struggle is just that they're not sleeping well."
The church bells ring every hour, 24 hours a day, from Easter until fall.
"They're big and loud," Allman-Morton said, noting they are "actual" bells, not an audio recording. The bell ringing is mechanized. They are not rung by hand.
The minister said he supports not ringing them from 8 p.m. until 8 am. That's the same stretch of time that Great Barrington's noise control ordinance prohibits "excessive noise."
"You need to honor your neighbor's abilities to sleep," Allman-Morton said. "I don't think it diminishes the sense of the church in the community if the bells toll 12 hours a day instead of 24."
The church's administrative board plan to discuss the issue next week and decide whether to change the bell schedule.
