Church Bell Ringing 218,000 Times In Honor Of Coronavirus Victims

PATCHOGUE, NY — A Patchogue church is ringing its historic bell to honor those who have died from coronavirus.

Starting this past Sunday, the Congregational Church of Patchogue, which is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, started ringing the 850-pound bell every six seconds.

The rings will continue every day for the next two weeks, totaling 218,000 rings representing the total number of people in the United States who have died from the virus to date.

The final toll will be Sunday, Nov. 1, All Saints Day.

For those who want to watch virtually, Rev. Dwight Lee Wolter will be live streaming from the East Main Street church on his Facebook page.

After some in the community expressed concerns over the noise from the bell, Wolter addressed the issue of the volume from the tolls via social media.

"We have volume control on the bell," he wrote in a post. "We have no intention of depriving you of sleep. Let us remember each toll represents the COVID death of an American."