Help Bring Back the Strathmere Church Bells

To All Strathmere and Whale Beach Homeowners and Visitors,

 

Have you noticed anything missing at noon and 6:00 pm?

The carillon in the Church Steeple has finally come to the end of its days.

The Board of Trustees of the Strathmere United Methodist Church has asked that we forward the Below is the letter requesting your assistance.

We know many organizations are asking for help these days, but if everyone pitches in a little bit, Strathmere will once again have its iconic music.

Thanks!

 

 

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Strathmere United Methodist Church
109 So. Commonwealth Avenue

Strathmere, NJ 08248


July 21, 2013

Greetings Friends and Neighbors,

We hope all of you are enjoying your summer in "Beautiful Downtown Strathmere".

This letter comes to you on behalf of the Board of Trustees and Pastor Jack Howard with the hope you will consider helping us to keep the music playing. For many years we have all been blessed by the carillon which plays from our steeple on a daily basis. About 25 years ago our carillon was donated to the church, and since then residents and visitors have enjoyed the church bells every evening.

As you may have noticed, the bells have been missing at noon and 6:00 pm for the past few weeks. A few of us have been stopped on the street by residents and vacationers who want to know why. We’ve been told, "It doesn’t seem like Strathmere without the church bells at six o’clock".

The research was done and we’ve discovered one of the main electronic components in the carillon needs to be replaced. Due to the cost to repair it, we believe it is time to replace our present system with a new one. The cost of a new system is $5,000. The new digital units are automatic and have approximately 750 songs and hymns which change from season to season.

This is where we need your help. We want to keep the church bells ringing for everyone to enjoy. We ask you to prayerfully consider making a tax deductible donation to the church. Checks should be mailed to Strathmere United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 93, Strathmere, NJ 08248. Please indicate that your donation is for church bells.

We invite you to join us any Sunday from Memorial Day Weekend through the end of September for our worship service which begins with a hymn sing at 9:15. We are a congregation which welcomes everyone to our church family. On any given Sunday we have many denominations represented and have visitors from all over the country. We look forward to seeing you before the end of the summer.
Thank you in advance for your consideration.


God’s Blessings to all of you!
Pastor Jack Howard & Butch Vandegrift, President of Trustees