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POINT OF VIEW
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A church chimes in, on the hour
Praying for peace from a disruptive daytime clangor
By NAN MILLER
RALEIGH - Prime residential real estate is always described in terms of "convenient" locations and "quiet" neighborhoods. My husband and I lived in just such a neighborhood when suddenly the quiet part was no more. Without warning, a church situated three blocks away installed a device that, after playing the familiar warm-up tune, chimed the hour every hour, every day between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Following the noon chiming came a 10-minute recording of hymns, torturously paced and slightly off key -- no joyful noise this.
Borrowing from Poe, I called these bells "brazen bells," or more wickedly "hell's bells," and wished the Founding Fathers had said a little something about separation of church and neighborhood. At first, though, I was confident that my husband's complaint would be one among many; reason would prevail, and the bells would stop. They didn't.
In his response to my husband's letter, the minister was cordial and restrained, as was the church secretary when I flew at her on two separate occasions when the bells rang erratically throughout the morning. Still, we were told in no uncertain terms that we were the only ones in the Ridge Road area not pleased by this noise, and that the bells must go on.
We noticed, however, that on Sunday they were held off till 1 p.m., presumably so as not to jar the nerves of churchgoers or to override the benediction. But this was the church's only admission that these bells are loud -- make that LOUD.
And we were not the only ones dismayed by the prospect of these endless, hourly interruptions. Though we made no formal inquiry, we happened upon a businesswoman who timed her appointments to avoid the noon chiming, a retiree who timed his gardening to avoid the noon chiming, and a mother who timed her baby's naps to avoid the noon chiming. As for us, it meant no more quiet, lunch-hour retreats from the office; no more relaxed oblivion to time on Saturday; no more impromptu napping under the Sunday papers.
We knew of cases where neighbors had campaigned successfully to reroute jets or close noisy bars, but when the intrusive noise emanates from a church, naturally, neighbors feel uneasy about returning fire.
The City of Raleigh told us that within certain hours and under certain decibels, this chiming was lawful, but we could only imagine what would happen if we mounted loudspeakers atop our house and broadcast music in all four directions. We could also imagine the outcome if we made a formal protest against these bells.
The first headline would read, "Right to privacy meets freedom of speech and religion," the second, "Bells win." And in the process I would be branded "the heathen down the block," and no amount of insisting "But I am not a heathen" and "this is not about religion -- this is about noise" would matter.
It was the image of the scarlet H that did it. Disarmed, I gave up and ordered a "white noise" machine that can surmount all but the high notes of the noon-hour recital and is just as portable as my laptop computer.
I renew my efforts now, two and a half years later, because of two recent developments. The first is a Supreme Court case brought by Jehovah's Witnesses in Stratton, Ohio, who have asked that the court reverse a lower court ruling prohibiting their going door to door without a permit. I am pulling for the other side, the so-called "guy in the bathrobe," who would protect his privacy against these intrusions.
Even more pertinent to my cause was a recent article headlined "No, 'no' means 'NO!'" about consumers striking back at telemarketers. Anti-telemarketing activists were described as being "pro-privacy" rather than "anti-business" -- my point exactly, except that I am "pro-privacy," not "anti-church." With the Federal Trade Commission's support and innovations such as "Call Intercept" and "TeleZapper," the anti-telemarketers are winning their battle against mealtime interruptus. The clear message is -- speak out, and maybe, just maybe, someone will support my case against an airborne menace.
Everything else about this church is impressive, especially its progressive stand on political issues. But I am not inspired to new heights of virtue by these bells and, in fact, revel in the occasional, inexplicable, divine remissions in their ringing.
If we should ever decide to sell this property, I do not know how we would promote it. No one wants to live in a formerly quiet neighborhood.
Nan Miller is an assistant professor of English at Meredith College.