SALISBURY — November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, and in observance of the month, Carolina Caring, an independent, community-based, non-profit health care provider, is kicking off the month with what has become a tradition called Bells for Hospice.

Churches around the country will be ringing their bells following Sunday services on the first Sunday in November in honor of loved ones who have died. Many congregations will also join in this symphony of sound to recognize National Hospice Month.

Carolina Caring invites local churches to join in this national tradition by ringing their bells, handbells, or chimes. The ringing of church bells has, for generations, been a way to recognize important events, to draw communities together, and mark the passage of time.

Carolina Caring serves 12 counties across western North Carolina and the Piedmont, including Rowan.