Churches, organizations and citizens of Fort Worth, the United States, and Japan will ring bells to recognize 75 years of peaceful relationships between the United States and Japan this week.
The bells will ring on Aug. 5 at 6:15 p.m. and Aug. 8 at 9:02 p.m. These are the exact dates and times of the atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
On Aug. 5, First United Methodist Church’s hand bell choir, Fifth Street Bells, directed by Alison Haygood, will be at the west parking lot of the church (between Henderson St. and Fifth St.) located at 800 W. 5th St.
Associate Pastor Mike Marshall will commemorate the occasion prior to the bell ringing at 6:15 p.m. and the bell choir and church bells will ring for 47 seconds. The Girl Scouts of Texas Oklahoma Plains are also involving its membership, as well as many other organizations and individuals throughout Fort Worth.
An abundance of peaceful sister city relationships between the United States and Japan have come to fruition in the last 75 years, with over 455 U.S. cities with Japanese sister city relationships.
Fort Worth’s Japanese sister city is Nagaoka, Japan. The cities have enjoyed a partnership since 1987.
“We are honored to join with our Japanese sister city in this impactful commemoration and promise of continued peace between our countries,” said Andrea Ballard, Nagaoka Committee Chair.