SoSara

Town honors Jonesville UMC’s preservation efforts

JONESVILLE (Oct. 28) — A few years ago the belfry at Jonesville United Methodist Church was in such bad shape that parishioners were afraid to ring the bell.

At first, the church had a string tied around the clapper so that members could ring the bell without moving it. The belfry could be seen tilting. Then, while doing some painting, church members discovered how much wood rot had damaged the bell cradle.

“For a while, we had closed off the church entry way in case the cradle collapsed,” church historian Dan Moran said. With the cradle holding a half-ton bell, the thought of what could happen was frightening.

Something had to be done. The cheapest option was to remove the bell and repair the belfry. But that didn’t seem right.

“To have the overall picture of the nice rural church with the bell … to have that ambiance is something a lot of people enjoy,” Moran said.

So the church decided to repair the belfry and keep the bell, calling upon parishioners to support the project via a special fundraising effort. Steel supports running down to concrete in the ground were installed to hold up the steeple’s backside, so that it no longer rested on the church’s roof. The bell cradle was replaced because it was too damaged to be rebuilt.

The project ended up costing around $125,000, but the church is happy with the result. The restoration was completed in 2007, and this month the Clifton Park town board presented the church with the 2009 Historic Preservation Annual Award for the project.

Now Jonesville UMC is one of the rare churches with a working bell.

“We’ve encouraged the children to go ring the bell,” Moran said. “I find it personally very exciting to think we’ve got a bell up there.”

For more information:

• Jonesville United Methodist Church, 963 Main Street, Clifton Park, 877.7332
• Town of Clifton Park, 1 Town Hall Plaza, Clifton Park, 371.6651