St. Edmund’s front entrance has been closed off with industrial fencing ever since high-up structural damage occurred some months ago. It was only recently, however, that I became aware the St. Edmund bells have stopped tolling.
I was heartbroken. As a longtime neighbor, I have heard the bells tolling as part of life in this village. I am not a member (or even Catholic) but I see St. Edmund Church as a magnificent historical edifice, an inspiring, spiritual symbol, a bulwark of strength and beauty — it seems to belong to all of us.
Who can forget that day of sorrow, Sept. 11, 2001, when the doors of St. Edmund were open to all, and the bells continuously tolled every few minutes, calling to our collective consciousness.
I invite you to join your hopes and wishes to mine, for the restoration of this church, and for the return of the bells, tolling each hour, calling us, if only for a moment in the midst of life’s bustling outer occupations, to an inner reflection.
May it be so — and sooner rather than later.
Deborah Kramer
Oak Park
