Church bells ringing sets off social media firestorm in Fishtown

FISHTOWN - A church bell controversy is ringing in Fishtown. The bells at Holy Name of Jesus Church are working after volunteers raised money, but a single post on social media complaining about the ringing has folks asking is it really a big deal?

"I live right here. It doesn’t bother me. They sound good," John Mullen said. "I live right next door."

The chimes are the talk of the neighborhood, all because someone complained about the hourly ringing on social media. They ring on the hour from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day.

"There’s a lot of other things to be upset about, like people blowing through stop signs and red lights," Bret Velheimer said. "I mean, church bells? It cracks me up that people are upset about that."

With over 1,000 comments on the post, the majority of which are in favor of the bells and the number of supporters outweighing the complaints that many residents think it was blown out of proportion.

Velheimer continued, "They don’t bother me in the least. I think it’s a wonderful sound. I don’t care how loud they are. I love hearing them."

Residents say it can be loud in the neighborhood with cars, motorcycles and pets.

"I don’t mind the church bells," resident Mike said. "They’re melodic like my Beagle. They add to the neighborhood and cities are noisy."

Other residents say the bells bring a much-needed peace.

Rose Zimmerman said, "Church bells keep the devil away."