Judy Pickens shares that historic photo of Fauntleroy Church and its bell tower, along with word that the church will begin 100 days of bell-ringing — every day at noon — starting Saturday, April 19, in honor of the church’s centennial observance. The 100 days will take the observance up to the anniversary of Fauntleroy Church’s first-ever service (July 26). Judy says, “Folks are signing up to ring the bell as a family, to observe a wedding anniversary, to memorialize a loved one, etc.” She also notes, “In the early days, the bell was also rung to alert people to a fire in the neighborhood. In fact, after our evening wedding in 1978, Phil and I rang the bell and a nearby church member came down to see what the emergency was!” So that’s why they’re getting the word out now – make a note that if you’re in the Fauntleroy area, you’ll hear bells daily at noon April 19-July 26. The centennial celebration the weekend of July 25-27 will feature major events including a Friday night community bean feed reprising the event that Judy says was “a community staple through WWII,” vespers on the beach afterward (reprising the beach gatherings that sparked the idea of building a church), a formal Saturday dinner for present/past church members and invited clergy, featuring the premiere of the forthcoming Fauntleroy documentary. We told you earlier this year about the search for a producer for that production; the hire’s been made, and here’s the announcement Judy wrote for the Fauntleroy Church newsletter:

After detouring to do a formal search for a production team, the Fauntleroy documentary project is really off and running.

We secured a $15,000 grant from the Seattle Dept. of Neighborhoods and, as a consequence, had to open the project to bid. After reviewing 27 applicants, we chose the team of Beth Farley (writer/producer) and Lorenzo Townsend (cameraman/editor). They have collaborated on a number of similar projects and, if you watch KING-TV news, you’ve seen his expert camera work (his “day” job for 30 years).

Our next major task is to secure additional sponsorships for the 26-minute video. Script writing will get under way in earnest on April 10 as we closely define the Fauntleroy story, from the early days through the present to being “community” in changing times.

As soon as this step is well along, we’ll start contacting folks to interview and begin to film events and places in the neighborhood.