St Mary’s Anglican Church parishioners believe the antique cast iron item has been stolen.
Vestry member Neville Benny said he went to ring the bell in a frame next to the church before the church service last Sunday.
But the rope from the 50kg chime that he would usually pull on was on the ground.
"The rope was there, and part of the handle, the bell had been broken off and was gone," Benny said.
He said he and fellow parishioners were shocked by the theft.
The bell was previously stolen in 2018 but then returned.
On that occasion, a Selwyn Times reader helped with the reunion, and he hoped the same would happen this time around.
A man had found the bell on the banks of the Waimakariri River while jet-boating.
His relative read about the theft two weeks later and let the man know, who got in touch with the church.
Benny said the bell had been in its rightful home for the last service of last year but went missing sometime since.
He planned to report the theft to police, and urged anyone with information to either phone police or himself on 021 829 563.
He said the bell had the number 6979 stamped into it from when it was manufactured more than a century ago.
