The Episcopal Church of the Advent in downtown Spartanburg is home to 11 historic bells that have echoed through the community for a century. The bells were first installed in 1926 and celebrated their 100th anniversary with a special commemorative event in October. Photo courtesy of https://churchofadvent.org/
In 1926, Spartanburg was home to around 26,000 people. It was a year of cultural milestones — Babe Ruth made history in the 1926 World Series, golfer Bobby Jones was the first to ever win both the British Open and the US Open, and Gertrude Ederle was the first woman to swim the English Channel from France to England, breaking the men’s record by two hours. Duke Ellington was leading the jazz age, Winnie the Pooh was published in London, and electric streetcars still filled local streets here in the Upstate.
And in the midst of it all, the Episcopal Church of the Advent became home to the very first set of bells to be heard in Spartanburg.
The congregation of the Church of the Advent dates back to 1848, making it a core part of Spartanburg’s history. The church’s current building was completed in 1853, and has been the congregation’s home ever since.
In 1915, John B. Cleveland gave the church the Cleveland Memorial Bell Tower in loving memory of his wife and daughter, who had passed away. The tower is 84 feet high, and was modeled after the square tower at Magdalen College at Oxford University, which was considered at the time to be the finest tower in England. Just over a decade later, in 1926, John B. Cleveland’s brother, Dr. Jesse Franklin Cleveland gifted the church the bells, in memory of his own wife.
Dr. Cleveland gave ten bells, which were cast in Belgium and installed by the famous Meneely Bell Company. Decades later, in 2003, an additional bell was given to the church in memory of Conrad Cleveland for a total of 11 bells. Together, the bells make up a combined weight of 7,350 pounds — over three tons.
The very first member of the parish to play the bells was a little boy named Jesse Franklin Cleveland, who had just turned six. He was the youngest Cleveland, and was chosen to mark this exciting moment in history.
The bells are fixed, and are not on an electric timer — they’re rung by a member of the church, known as a carilloneur, who has to climb five flights of stairs to bring the song of the bells to life. The church’s bells are played for weddings, funerals, and feast days, in addition to Sunday mornings following the 10:15 service — a familiar song for the Spartanburg community.
This October, Church of the Advent celebrated 100 years of the bells with a special Bell Centennial commemorative event, honoring a century of music, worship, and community life. Together, the congregation enjoyed a special playing of the bells by Stephen Canny, in addition to fellowship and the reading of a liturgy celebrating all God has done through the bells over the past century.
And while Jesse Franklin Cleveland, the little boy who first rang the church bells, has since passed away, his two children, Arthur Cleveland and Cathy Grooms, were present for the festivities.
The celebratory liturgy read at the event was written by parishioner Susan Irwin, who shared just how special it was to have the opportunity to mark such a significant milestone in the church’s history.
“We feel [the bells are] the word of the Lord reaching out, proclaiming God’s love,” says Irwin, “and that it inspires people to remember the goodness of the Lord, and it reaches out into the community with that message and sound.”
The liturgy reads:
“Heavenly Father who teaches us to live in harmony through Your written, spoken, and sung words, bless the Advent bells which have glorified You for 100 years, proclaiming Your love for all people with each note. We give thanks for the presence of these bells in our lives, and for the blessings conferred by their music. We give thanks for those who cast them, for those whose gifts provided them, for those who care for them, and for those who play them joyfully to proclaim your holy word. We pray that the sounds of these bells will inspire all who hear them to acknowledge that all good things come from the Lord, and to embrace love and harmony in their lives. May they make a joyful noise unto the Lord for the next hundred years and beyond.”
“The bells and their music, it’s a gift to the community,” says Irwin. “It’s a reminder that we should all live in love and harmony with each other. And Lord knows, in this age we’re living in, that’s a pretty good message.”
