April 4 will mark 50 years since the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis invites congregations around the world to toll their bells 39 times on April 4 to honor King’s age at his death and to pay homage.
Mirroring the way this news rippled across the country, bells will ring first at the National Civil Rights Museum and the King Center at 6:01 p.m. (all times Central). Bells will chime across Memphis at 6:03 p.m., at 6:05 p.m. across the nation, and finally at 6:07 p.m. across the world.
If you plan on tolling your church bells, consider registering with the National Civil Rights Museum.
Adapted from iSeek, Diocese of Missouri
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
