The Bell
A Bell, A Birthday—and You
This beautiful bell once hung in Boston’s Clarendon Street Baptist Church, where Adoniram Judson Gordon, the founder of Gordon College, served as pastor for 26 years. For many years after Gordon College moved from Boston to Wenham, it hung in a gazebo near Frost Hall.
Its lifespan so far has included two world wars, the Cold War, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the opening up of global markets, the dotcom boom and bust, and the arrival of a new millennium—as well as generation after generation of Gordon students, many of whom announced their engagements by ringing the bell.
In 2014 the Clarendon Bell was moved to a prominent location in front of the A. J. Gordon Memorial Chapel, a fitting commemoration of the College’s 125th anniversary year. The relocated bell will be rung for a broader array of occasions than in the past, calling the campus to Chapel, and for other important events. For safety reasons, the bell currently has an electronic clapper; the school is exploring commissioning a piece that would remain at the bell for manual ringing, allowing students to announce not only engagements but other significant life events, such as admission to graduate school, publishing a book, embarking upon a mission trip.
The rededication of the bell in its new setting was a dramatic kickoff for this year’s Homecoming and 125th anniversary festivities. We hope you will join us!