Bell metal!
I was intrigued by a recent back page picture in the Ringing World of a bell that had been cast from waste aluminium. It was part of an art sculpure called ‘Redivivus’, from the Latin meaning ‘come back to life’ or ‘reborn’, with a focus on the use we can make of recycled materials, something which concerns us all with regard to caring for our environment.
Aluminium is not normally used in casting a bell. Although steel has been known to be used in the process in the past, bell metal is normally bronze, an alloy of copper and tin. Bell metal has also been recycled in the past. Bells have been removed from church towers and melted down to make armaments in times of war. The reverse has also happened. Bronze cannon used in battle have been melted down and recast into church bells.
The need to reduce waste by means of recycling is something that has become an important focus in creating a more sustainable future for the planet. It is something we all need to be involved with if we want to contribute in a positive way to ensure a better life for future generations to come. The challenge of making new things out of old confronts our throw-away culture, encouraging us to reduce waste by recycling as much as possible.
The Bible tells us that there is a sense in which we all need to be spiritually recycled. By nature we are, “dead in transgressions and sins”. (Ephesians 2:1) We need to experience ‘Redivivus’ if we would be reborn and come back to life. Jesus said that we must be, “born again”, or “born of the Spirit”, if we would enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:3-5) And only God can give us, “new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Peter 1:3) Paul tells us that, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) Jesus said, “I am making everything new.” (Revelation 21:5) New life is ours in Christ. Here is the ultimate hope for the future of our world – God’s promise of a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
Revd George G Cringles
A retired minister of the Church of Scotland and a member of the Guild of Clerical Ringers