BANFF – The bells of Banff struck a chord deep in the hearts of residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Heather Jean Jordan, a singer-songwriter and music teacher, began playing the church bells at St. George’s-In-The-Pines March 2020 to inspire hope during a time Banff was left devastated socially and economically.
Throughout time, music has brought people together and the church bells did just that in Banff.
“The idea was to help foster some hope and connection for people during tough times,” Jordan said.
“I wanted to help lessen the anxiety of the global pandemic, if only for a moment, and let people know they were not alone.”
Before the pandemic, Jordan only played the bells for Sunday church services or the occasional wedding.
The first Sunday after lockdown and social distancing measures were implemented, St. George’s-In-The-Pines live-streamed its church service in an empty church.
Jordan played the bells – one of only two sets of 11 peal bells in Canada – and countless people reached out to let her know how her music inspired feelings of hope.
“Personally, I come from a family of doers; you get out there and you help, but we weren’t allowed to do that,” Jordan said.
“I decided I would start doing it every day as a way to give back to the community.”
From mid-March exactly a year ago until Canada Day on July 1, 2020, the church bells echoed daily throughout the town at 1 p.m.
Music gives people a place to express emotions, to find hope, connection and fulfilment, which was vital in the early days of the pandemic when thousands of Banff’s workforce was laid off.
“The bells themselves are a really amazing and special instrument,” Jordan said. “They are an incredibly powerful instrument of beauty and I think people found peace in listening to them.”
For Mayor Karen Sorensen, the daily sound of the bells filling the empty streets of the tourist town gave her inspiration and helped lift her spirits during the devastating times.
“I find myself choking up now just thinking about it,” she said, recalling sobbing as she listened to O Canada being played on the bells. “It was such a unique gift to give the community.”
Often, Sorensen stood in front of the church located at the corner of Beaver and Buffalo streets to listen, but could also hear the daily 1 p.m. ritual from her office at Town Hall, or from her balcony at home.
“It was this moment every day, where you knew we would all be thinking the same thing – whether it was we were scared, this is so sad, or we’re going to get through this,” she said.
“It was when the streets of Banff were empty and it had a huge, positive impact on the community, as music does, and I think it really brought us all together.”
News of Jordan’s musical talents for ringing the bells and uplifting daily ritual spread across Canada and even around the world.
Jordan received emails and letters expressing the hope and joy people felt watching live-streams or listening to the bells.
“I would do a live-stream and people would be watching from the U.K. or Australia,” she said.
More locally, residents told Jordan how they planned their daily walks around the ringing of the bells, or made 1 p.m. their time to dance, or simply sat to relax and enjoy.
“I had one person tell me they called their mom on Facetime every day – their mom was in a different part of the country – so that they could both listen to it together,” Jordan recalled.
Jordan believes the beauty of the bells brought peace to people in the early days of the pandemic.
“It was so shocking to us all. I felt shaken and people felt really alone,” she said.
“But with the bells, we could all hear it and be together – even if in separate homes.”
On a personal level, Jordan also made new connections in the community.
“When I was playing no one could see me, but people I had never met knew me because of the bells,” she said.
“I heard stories of kids saying ‘that must be Heather’ and people would stop me and ask ‘are you the bell ringer?’ They felt a connection to me.”
The peal bells at St. George’s-In-The-Pines are believed to be the first of their kind to be installed in Canada. They do not swing, but are attached to steel beams and struck by clappers controlled by baton levers on a clavier within the steeple.
Installed in 1927, the bells were cast by John Taylor and Company Bellfounders in England, and shipped to Banff through the Panama Canal.
On these bells, Jordan has played O Canada, Ode to Joy, Amazing Grace, and the Beatles’ Let It Be, among many others.
She’s recently been referred to as ‘Mistress of the Chime.'
“I love that description,” she is quoted as saying on the church’s website. “It sounds a bit medieval.”
