SOUTH ABINGTON TWP. — For many years, the bell ringing in the Chinchilla United Methodist Church steeple signaled the start of worship services.
“Our church service used to be at 10 o’clock and a couple minutes to 10, the church bell would ring,” said longtime member Scott Thorpe. “The neighborhood would hear it and know … it was time for church.”
That bell is silent. While light spills from the colored stained glass windows, the pews once filled with people are sparse. Music from the choir no longer rings through the sanctuary…