At noon today, if you hear church bells ringing, pause a moment.

As beautiful as the bells may sound, their pealing heralds a call to action to end domestic violence in Maine.

The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence and other domestic violence resource centers across the state have asked churches and other community buildings to ring their bells at noon, a symbolic and public call for attention to what is so often a hidden crime.

So, while the bells toll, think about 38-year-old Amy Lake and her two school-age children, Coty and Monica, shot to death in their Dexter home. After years of violence and threatening behavior, Steven Lake — husband and father — pulled the trigger, ending the lives of people he claimed to have loved before turning the gun on himself.

Since Lake’s death on June 13, there have been 1,131 domestic violence assaults reported in Maine.

Think about 30-year-old Sarah Gordon, shot to death by her husband after he chased her from their home and down the street, all while the couple’s two young children witnessed the commotion. Nathaniel Gordon fled after killing his wife, and committed suicide after being chased by police to Gray. While the couple was known to have occasionally argued, Gordon claimed to have loved his family.

Since Sarah Gordon’s death on June 6, there have been 1,232 domestic violence assaults reported in Maine.

Think about 27-year-old Renee Sandora and her friend, Trevor Mills, who were shot and killed at Sandora’s home in New Gloucester. Joel Hayden, the Massachusetts man charged with the crime, was Sandora’s boyfriend and the father of her four children, including infant twins. He was also Mills’ longtime friend, and is said to have loved them all.

Since Sandora’s death on July 25, there have been 522 domestic violence assaults reported in Maine.

Jane Morrison, executive director of Safe Voices, said domestic violence in Maine is now at “epidemic proportions.” Statistically, one domestic violence assault is reported in Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties every 99 minutes. That’s more than 14 assaults reported every day, and more than 5,309 assaults every year.

Every year.

As startling as these numbers are, the very hard reality of domestic violence assault is that not every instance is reported because domestic violence assault is a crime of terrorism that can invoke silence among its victims.

It’s a repetitive and opportunistic crime that fosters fear, instills shame and cows its victims. Victims who are often traumatized by severe and repeated beatings, rapes and neglect — all in the supposed name of love.

Members of the nonprofit projects calling attention to domestic violence acknowledge the bell-ringing is a symbol, but what they hope is that people who hear the sound will take a moment to reflect on the lives that have been lost to this crime and, according to Meg Klingelhofer, community education director for the Rockland-based New Hope for Women, will “give voice to those who have been silenced by domestic and dating violence.”

Klingelhofer and other advocates also hope the public call will spur all Mainers to “commit to being a part of positive change in our communities.”

If not, the reality is that more men, women and children will die at the hands of people who claim to love them.

So, when the bells ring today, give pause and resolve to do what you can to stop the violence, support the victims and report the crime.

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The opinions expressed in this column reflect the views of the ownership and editorial board.