Makes me think that bells are really a great way to communicate over large distances in the time before we had radio or other means. You can hear church bells from a great distance.
Yep, bells were used to regulate communal activities like prer, holidays, weddings, burials, and danger. Later - announcing the hour. They are intrusive and expensive though, so for long-distance communication they had to use other means like fire, smoke, doves, and horse curriers.