A bell to remember and live with

Bell donors Dr John Alipit and wife Josephine Galpo Alipit 

HAPPY WEEKEND

Gina Dizon

SAGADA, Mountain Province – Sept.  21, 2014 marked the day when John, in honor of St. John the Evangelist ceremonially began to be of  service to the Sagada community and the rest of the places nearby.

John refers to the new bell donated by US  residents Dr John Alipit, a native of Sagada and wife Josephine GalpoAlipit in loving memory of their parents Feliciano and Maria Alipit and Donato and Emiliana Galpo, long-time members of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines.In simple and solemn ceremonies at the Church of St Mary the Virgin last Sept. 21, the  new bell was ceremonially officiated  by Diocesan Bishop Brent Alawas  of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Philippines (EDNP) aided by the Rector Constancio Naoy of the Church of St Mary the Virgin(CSMV).

Distinct and rich resonance of the pealing of the new bell was witnessed by CSMV Senior warden Dave Gulian, also a member of the Alipit clan; former CSMV senior warden Vincent  Andawi and also a member of the Alipit clan; and the community.  

The bell was purchased at  Brosamer's Bells  with a  32" Menelley 1910 label, restored and complete swinging bell with the whole mount costing $11,000.00. Made in Germany, the bell is  thick and solid made of copper  and tin.

The bell alone weighs 600 lbs but with the mount weighing l068 lbs.  The mount measures the base 32" deep by  49" wide.  The wheel height is 65 inches and 60 inches in diameter.

The 1910 bell  is historically close to 1904 when the Episcopal Church was  planted in the Philippines and two  years older than CSMV and the first St Mary’s School  which started in 1912.

In a letter sent by ECP lay member RaymundAlipit to UNESCO for  tax exemption of the bell transported from  the US to Philippines presented the  historical  beginnings of  the ECP in 1901 when  a group of American missionaries led by the Rt. Rev. Charles Henry Brent arrived in Manila and the beginning of the pealing of the bell for residents of Sagada then to embrace Christianity.

“From Manila, they travelled on foot and on horse backs through rugged mountain terrain and rivers for several weeks and settled in one small tribal village situated on a rocky mountain slope with extraordinary scenery.  This village was known for its headhunting activities and where Spanish authorities never dared to explore. These missionaries brought with them one essential food - the Word of God - and with the help of a church bell they have carried with them, they began feeding the people the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

No one knew then that this village called Sagada, our hometown, would become the center for missionary work of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America in the Philippines.  They had the vision and the evangelistic ministry, thus, the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, the St. Mary's School,  St. Andrew's Training School for seminarians and the St. Theodore's Hospital rose as their first institutions in the mission compound.

While the missionaries worked hard in the village, the church bell pealed and slowly brought in villagers to the church for worship into the Christian faith.  The bell pealed for every angelus and in every mission activity from sunrise to sundown.  All through the years, village folks learned to love this bell in the church tower and to let them know what time it is during the day.  For the villagers as well as those working in far away fields, they know for sure that when the bell rings for the angelus morning, noon and at sunset, they are to pray and thank the Lord for the days work and at the end of the day, time to return home to feed their families.

They know when the bell tolls for a departed love one and they know too that when the bell tolls, another life arrives and is prepared for baptism.  The bell serves also as a call for natural disasters and emergencies as in the case of fire, they know that they would all come out of their houses and scramble for buckets of water, fire extinguishers and all means to put out a fire. They know from first hand experience how far reaching results this bell has for everybody and for every moment of their lives in this small village. 

The huge bell was not spared during the war.  In 1945, the Church of St. Mary the Virgin was bombed and the bell was destroyed.  The cracked bell is now on display at the church mission yard to remind us that time and time again that the God we love is a wonderful and living God and that His message can be heard to all lands through this bell and through people like you.  Another bell was brought in by the missionaries right after the war and was installed at the bell tower of the new stone church.  Again, this bell had been pealing for the village folks for over half a century now.   Unfortunately, last year it suddenly gave in and cracked.”

And the rest is history with the coming and installation of the 1910 bell to relive history and continue to be of service to the faithfuls of  Sagada.