Usually, church bells last less than a minute, but the morning of Oct. 25, the bells lasted much longer than usual when St. Paul's Memorial Episcopal Church rang its bell 350 times to sound an alarm for the climate change crisis.
The number 350 holds significance because leading climate scientists claim that 350 is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide measured in parts per million.
"Right now, the levels of carbon dioxide are almost 390 ppm so it's going to require a lot of work to get us back down to 350 ppm," event organizer Gwynn Crichton said, who also works for the Nature Conservancy in Virginia.
When more carbon is emitted, the greenhouse effect intensifies, which leads to glacier melting and oceans warming, she said. Emission of carbon dioxide is mostly a result of deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal.
Not just one person alone rang the bell 350 times that Sunday, however. Many of the more than 100 participants quietly walked into the church in single file, rang the bell by tugging on the rope a couple of times, and then exited through another door, said Whitney Newton, an Urban and Environmental Planning graduate student and participant in the event. She was asked to count to see that the bell was rung 350 times.
After the participants rang the bell, they wrote letters to local politicians and congressmen at letter-writing stations in the church.
This event was tied to the organization 350.org's goal of having an International Day of Climate Action, the focus of which is to raise the attention of world leaders attending the United Nations' climate change conference in December, Crichton stated.
Although 350.org set Oct. 24 as the International Day of Climate Action, St. Paul's Church hosted its bell-ringing event the following day to avoid parking difficulties because of the University's Oct. 24 home football game.
St. Paul's Church was not the only church involved in the event. Crichton noted that there were more than 4,200 events - including rallies and demonstrations - in at least 170 countries around the world.
The Episcopal Church is known for becoming heavily involved in the important political issues of the moment.
"Our presiding bishop, Dr. Katharine Jefferts Schori, has testified in Congress on global warming issues and she's also a scientist," Reverend James Richardson said. "Her first career was as an oceanographer before she became a priest."
The members of St. Paul's Church also are accustomed to fighting for environmental issues.
"I have a congregation that's very aware of environmental issues and environmental organizations," said Richardson, who noted that the church also has a committee called the Green Team, the goal of which is to raise environmental awareness. The Green Team at St. Paul's is part of Virginia Interfaith Power & Light. VIPL is a nonprofit, interfaith organization dedicated to promoting renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation in response to global climate change, Crichton said.
"Their goal is to help faith communities recognize and fulfill their duties as stewards of creation," she said.
One component of the event was "Stations of the Earth." Wall murals, placed in the main sanctuary, described the climate crisis and actions people can take to combat it. There also were many pictures highlighting the different organizations around the world that promote environmental awareness, Crichton said. The decor included pictures of President Obama, in reference to his attendance at the upcoming climate talks in December, and a text explaining the importance of environmental awareness. Illustrations of the various, potentially dramatic effects of climate change also covered the walls.
Crichton stressed the importance of taking responsibility for our own individual carbon footprint.
"We need to try everything from using public transportation, riding our bike, changing our light bulbs, ensuring our houses are more energy efficient and taking the time to reach out to our political leaders and tell them that we have got to make some changes," Crichton said.
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