(LaPorte, IN) - A church bell rang for two minutes Friday in LaPorte to honor all emergency responders for putting their lives at risk during the coronavirus outbreak.
Bethany Lutheran Church pastor Dennis Meyer pulled up and down on the rope fastened to the cast iron bell in the steeple of the 1888 structure at 102 G St.
He started precisely at 10:08 a.m. because 10-08 in emergency radio code means “in service.”
Meyer said the bell will ring at the exact same time every Friday until the health emergency subsides.
“If we do this every Friday until we get the all clear it’s just a way of saying thank you every week and we’re all together on this,” Meyer said.
LaPorte County Sheriff John Boyd said he felt humbled by hearing the bell off in the distance while driving to the church to pick up a crate full of hand sanitizer.
“It just does so much for our morale and our spirit to know there are others thinking about us and praying for us in these really troubling times,” he said.
Boyd said knowing there’s a deadly virus in a job that can’t be wrapped in a protective bubble can make for restless nights.
He said patrol officers keep hand sanitizer for protection against the virus since they don’t have running water and soap in their vehicles.
Hand sanitizer is in short supply, though, but the church happened to have a few extra bottles to give to his department.
“While some are hunkering down and staying home, we’re continuing to come into work and we’ll continue to do that,” he said.
Meyer said he learned about church bells going off in France to honor emergency responders dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak there and felt it was fitting to do the same thing here.
A few passing motorists honked their horns as invited during the bell ringing but traffic was light presumably from people staying home due to the virus.
Meyer is hoping other churches and motorists join in as word spreads about the weekly bell ringing to honor responders in the military, hospitals and on the streets coping with the outbreak.
“I can’t call them and thank every individual but I can do this,” he said.
