RNS) — As churches across the country observe Good Friday, more than 100 congregations will also ring their bells to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Boston Old North Church’s Lantern service, which marks the beginning of the American Revolutionary War.
The “Let Freedom Ring!” project, initiated by the Center for Media and Democracy, invites churches and individuals to ring bells on Friday (April 18) “in solidarity with the Old North Church and to honor America’s historic struggle against tyranny,” per a National Council of Churches press release.
“We’re exceptionally moved that so many churches and faith communities want to share this anniversary with us today,” said the Rev. Matthew P. Cadwell, Old North’s priest.
The Old North Church’s Lantern service commemorates the night of April 18, 1775, when parishioners lit two lanterns atop the cathedral’s steeple to warn colonists of the arrival of British troops in Massachusetts. Paul Revere, a silversmith, became a central figure in the episode, known for his “Midnight Ride,” when he embarked on a horse-riding journey through the colony, warning minutemen of the British advance hours before the Lexington and Concord battles.
The 250th anniversary comes at “a profound time in our national life, when so many are feeling uncertain about what our future is and what the meaning of democracy is today,” said Cadwell.
In an echo of Revere’s warning, this year’s Lantern service aims to raise the alarm about today’s threats to American democracy and ideals, said Cadwell. “We all have to fight and work for it in the same way that ordinary people like Paul Revere did.”
Through the event, congregations aim to prompt reflections on the meaning of freedom and America’s history of welcoming people from diverse backgrounds. Cadwell said his sermon will urge congregants to be “shining beacons of justice and light in the nation and world.” He hopes the service will inspire attendees to contribute to upholding democratic principles.
Revere and those colonial-era church members who lit the lanterns that night 250 years ago are examples for America today, he said. “They were ordinary people who believed in a different way, and a different kind of country that could be theirs, that could include them in a better way.”
Old North’s bells, the country’s oldest, will ring at 6 p.m. to welcome attendees in the sanctuary. The ceremony will begin with an interpretation of Katharine Lee Bates’ “America the Beautiful.” Old North’s choir will sing other patriotic hymns, including Abraham Wood’s “A Hymn on Peace” and “This Is My Song, O God of All the Nations.”
