St. John’s Bells

Every Sunday evening
St. John’s Bells begin to ring over downtown Moose Jaw
now at St. Aidan’s

Since Christmas 1912
when St. John’s Bells first rang
Their voices echoed across this prairie
steady and strong

Even through winters of forty below
Even when the prairie was blind
with thick fog and drifting snow
Their voices guided the lost toward home

Keep ringing
St. John’s Bells
Through the drifting snow
across the frozen prairie
Carried on the Winter wind
Some hear hope
Some find their Way home

In the summer of 1919
St. John’s Bells rang low and slow
The whole town turned out, to welcome their boys home
Some came home. Many never did

The men of the 46th Battalion stood in the square
They held white oak crosses they had carved
Beneath St. John’s Bells
the 1,433 fallen and 3,484 wounded were remembered

Keep ringing
St. John’s Bells
Through the tears
across the vast prairie
through every grieving heart
Some remember
Some still bow their heads

In 2020, St. John’s Bells rang out as before
But Moose Jaw was quiet—streets empty, windows closed
Through the silence, the bells rang out every day at noon
One window opened… then another
People looked toward the sky
and hope quietly returned

Keep ringing
St. John’s Bells
Through the silence
across this quiet prairie
Steady and strong
Some look up
Some see tomorrow

St. John’s Bells are still hand rung
From the heights of a seventy foot, red brick tower
Their voices have marked our time
Blessing work and prayer
sunsets and seasons
bringing hope and light

Every Sunday evening, St. John’s Bells still echo
across downtown Moose Jaw
People still stop and listen
look up
Above the prairie…
the story still goes on

Oh Moose Jaw