Long Description:The Betty Jane Dimmitt Memorial Bell Tower and Carillon are
lovingly dedicated to the memory of Betty Jane Dimmitt
Whose love of art and music and sense of harmony with nature
brought joy and enrichment to those around her;
Whose spiritual strength and devotion to the church inspired all
who knew her.
The joy in her life will ring out with the sound of these bells.
December 8, 1982
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Church of the Ascension (Clearwater, Florida)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Church of the Ascension is an Episcopal church in Clearwater,
Florida. Its name comes from the words of one of the founders, "It
was a miracle the way our church did ascend from our prayers". The
church is located in the Harbor Oaks Residential District and is
considered by many locally to be an important historic site. The
church also has a 75-foot tall carillon, the Betty Jane Dimmitt
Memorial Carillon, which has 49 bells and is one of just four such
towers in the state of Florida.
In addition to the organ and the carillon, the church's current
building, built in gothic style around 1925, features 28 stained
glass windows (the oldest of which dates back to 1895) which
feature, among other things, the Ascension of Jesus Christ (in a
large window over the altar), the Ten Commandments, the parable of
the Good Shepherd, the parable of the Lost Son, and the "war
window" where a candle is lit in remembrance of the Iraq war. Many
have gone to pray at this window for loved ones involved in the
war.
History
The church was founded 1885, when sixteen people met in a home to
organize a new church. As the church grew the still small
congregation moved the church into several other buildings before
it was moved to its current location near downtown Clearwater. The
church nave was extended later to its current size to include a
balcony (where the organ console sits) and an increase in the
seating capacity.
In 1982, church member Larry Dimmit donated the Betty Jane Dimmit
Memorial Carillon, composed of 49 cast bronze bells from the Royal
Eijsbouts bell foundry in the Netherlands, which was installed on
Dec. 5 of that year. The bells are now played at least weekly
before or after church services, although in the 2001 Christmas
season, the bells were played daily in remembrance of the September
11, 2001 attacks.
In 2003 the church installed a new pipe organ by Orgues
Létourneau, which is the ninth largest in Florida (by number of
ranks) with 4,182 pipes (3,235 in the Gallery and 947 in the
Chancel) and 78 ranks.
Unique Events
The church is unique in Pinellas County for offering The Alpha
Marriage Course, and is one of few churches that celebrates the
medieval Epiphany-oriented Boar's Head and Yule Log Festival, which
features the choir and clergy in medieval costume (as, for example,
beefeaters) and reenactments in song of popular stories such as the
three kings and Good King Wenceslas.
(visit link)