I am Emanuel's bell, for many years one of the many
voices of Emanuel, I am happy to be rededicated to service again.
It is almost a hundred years that I first came to Hales Corners. Those were the horse and
buggy days. I have seen them all, stirring years in our history, from ox cart to astronauts.
Hales Corners has changed with the times from a muddy little village to a respectable community of homes
and businesses.
In those early days the only bells in this part of the country were old St. Mary's and at St. Martins, Sacred
Heart's and Holy Assumption, while far to the west was St. Paul's at Tess Corners. I was a
newcomer calling out in a strange tongue, for my congregation was German and almost all were farmers.
But my voice was one of freedom, hope and faith, for my church was a free church, unhampered by synod
controls or hide bound doctrines. Mine was a voice of the love of God, for my people were
pioneers. They dared to break with tradition and worship God by building their own church with
their own hands, pledging their own resources.
The years were good and my congregation prospered, then came World War I. German had to
go. The change was made and Emanuel became an English-speaking church. As
each new generation came along, new blood was to take up the work. Many times I had to toll
for the passing of our early pioneers, but I rang joyously for weddings and the start of new families.
Emanuel was home to many folks.
The years were not without their problems and trouble. Dissension almost ruined our church,
but faith prevailed, and in a few years peace again came to our congregation and old wounds and scars were
forgotten in the rebuilding. Then came another great war and my sons marched off to foreign
lands to fight. Some died and I tolled when they brought them home. Theirs had been
a complete sacrifice. After the war came prosperity. The farmlands gave way to
new cities. My people wanted a new church, a large church with room for all.
The church was built. It was beautiful, but they had no place for me. It seemed that
I would be doomed to the scrap pile. My voice was stilled. Strange, but the same
thing happened to old St. Mary's!
With the new church came new people and new leadership. Some of them with a longing for the
old traditions raised me up in a new tower and here I am. Almost like new I have the same
voice, but no one has to pull a rope. I can be run by a button pressed by a little child's fingers.
In the old days my people pulled my rope with vigor. They made the old steeple
rock. Today just a touch of a little finger!
I am part of the pushbutton age ... from ox cart to pushbutton. Surely this power is a gift from
God. We must use it. With this new technology, our farmers can feed the world.
Why should anyone starve? We can help. Today we send people to
the moon. It is easier to step across the doorstep to shake hands with our neighbor, even if he is
black. We must end the terrible wars and oppression among all people. We must
rebuild this world even as my people have rebuilt me.
As I look down on my new church, I can see a wonderful future, and a place where all can come to worship
God, a place where all can come to do the work of God.
My people will carry on with the same faith as our forefathers. We will continue the work started so
many years ago. With a little touch of the finger, I will ring out loud and clear.
Put me on automatic. Here we are! Here is Emanuel! Emanuel, God
is with us!
The original church bell was removed from the old church
when it was razed and stored along the south boundary fence behind the parsonage. It soon
became obscured from view by weed growth and was largely forgotten.
