Bells Ring Across the Country to Warn Against Attacks on Freedom

On April 18, houses of worship and individuals across the country rang bells to mark the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the American Revolution against tyranny and sound an alarm about growing threats to freedom in America today.

“We rang loud and clear so the community of Boulder could hear, in solidarity with the need to protect the freedoms we fought for 250 years ago,” wrote members of the First Congregational Church of Boulder, Colorado.

On that day in 1775, two lanterns were hung in the steeple of Boston’s Old North Church as a signal to fellow patriots that British soldiers were on the move, setting off the famous ride of Paul Revere and others and the ringing of area church bells to sound the alarm.

The inaugural Let Freedom Ring! event, organized by the Center for Media and Democracy in collaboration with the National Council of Churches and state-based faith groups, coincided with the ringing of the Old North Church’s bells as part of its 250th anniversary Lantern Service. The service featured a keynote address by American historian Heather Cox Richardson, who gave a detailed account of what actually happened that spring as patriots escalated their defiance of British tyranny. She spoke of the importance of many small acts of courage — “the little steps that lead to profound change” — when “democratic principles…are under siege.” 

“We’re exceptionally moved that so many churches and faith communities want to share this anniversary with us today,” Reverend Matthew Cadwell, the vicar of Old North Church, told RNS (Religion News Service).

Participating everywhere from private front porches and small-town steeples to big city churches, hundreds of people took part in celebrating the historic occasion and taking a stand against ongoing attacks on democracy that threaten American principles of liberty and justice for all. A partial list of event partners includes houses of worship from eastern Maine to southern California, and from Florida and the Texas Gulf Coast to Fargo, North Dakota, and Sundance, Wyoming. Scores of people posted videos of their bell-ringing and inspiring messages on the Let Freedom Ring! community page.

“Let us all stand up for our democracy, the rule of law, and human rights!,” posted members of the Community Church of Durham, New Hampshire. 

Many participating religious leaders remarked on the Trump administration’s alarming arrests of international students for exercising their free speech rights, the detention and deportation of immigrants and asylum seekers without due process, and aggressive attacks on transgender rights. 

“Today, many who call this country home do not feel safe,” said Cadwell in his lantern service remarks. “They fear being sent away, or arrested in the street, or made to live a life that is contrary to their innermost being. So many millions find hope and inspiration in…the ideals enshrined in the Declaration of Independence — the belief that all men, all people, are created equal and are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That’s what my 18th-century ancestors fought for in the American Revolution.”

“I think it is important in the ringing bells and the lights to remember who we are as a nation,” said Reverend Adriene Thorne before the Riverside Church in New York City rang its carillon of bells, one of which weighs in at 20 tons. “In this moment, when injustice and tyranny are at a height that many of us cannot remember, I think we all are called…to do our part.” 

Speaking at the beginning of the Old North service, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu echoed this sentiment, saying, “Freedom is worth fighting for, and the fight has arrived.” Trump’s border czar, Tom Holman, has singled out Wu — and Massachusetts more generally — for standing in the way of the administration’s mass deportation plans, threatening to “bring hell” to Boston if local officials fail to cooperate with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.

“The lanterns now serve a different purpose,” noted Bill Galvin, secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, at the Old North service. In 2025, they are “not simply a memory of what happened and how it came about, but a challenge to all of us. Now is our turn.”