January 20, 2021
The incoming Biden presidential administration chose as its first official act a national Covid-19 memorial on the Lincoln Mall in Washington, DC, to honor and grieve the currently more than 400,000 people who have died from this disease over the past 10 months. Churches nationwide were invited to ring their bells on January 19th in solidarity with this Covid-19 memorial. First Parish Truro’s Revere-hewn bell was rung ably by member Gary Cooper for five solid minutes. The bell sounded out over our beloved Truro community as it has for centuries, though this time in mourning.
Gary offered this reflection:
“This evening at 5:30pm, the Parish floodlights and 2 streetlights were turned on and I rang the Parish bell for 5 minutes. I converted 400,000 deaths into 400,000 seconds which I calculated into 4.6 days. I used [this number] to ring the bell for 5 minutes.”
– Gary Cooper, reflecting on the Covid-19 memorial bell ringing
The congregation wishes to thank Gary and his partner, Ron Spinks, who memorialized the ringing with the video below, for helping First Parish Truro stand in solidarity with all who have lost loved ones to this terrible pandemic. May God bless all who mourn, and may we all continue to do our individual parts to help the pandemic end as soon as possible.