One of the things that we have had to contend with as ringers during the pandemic has been the fact that we have not been able to mark the sorts of national and local occasions that would usually warrant a peal, quarter or specially
arranged touch – maybe even a date touch for an anniversary of particular significance. This became evident last year as arrangements for marking the 75th anniversary of VE day were considerably scaled back, and ringers, like all clergy
and ministers, were told we could not even enter churches to toll a single bell.
Our understanding of this coronavirus, how it spreads and the risk it poses have improved since then, as has our ability to connect virtually through online platforms or think creatively about ringing handbells or mini-rings outside. So at various points in the national calendar over the past year or so, we have been able to mark significant events, including most recently the death of HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, when many individual bells were tolled either following the announcement of his death or to coincide with his funeral, or both – and many online performances were recorded too.
It is obviously important to us as ringers, and we hope to the wider community, that we acknowledge and celebrate such events publically. So what is this about? In one sense, it is about being a presence in the community, a focus for prayer or reflection. That is one reason to have a physical church building in a community, to be a reminder that we are not in this alone, but that we can gather our collective thoughts and prayers together as a community in support and encouragement of one another. Church buildings and bells do this in a way that is beautiful and artistic, and in a way that lifts our minds to somewhere greater than ourselves – at least, that is the hope.
And still, when we are asked to ring a bell on our doorstep for Captain Tom or for Sarah Everard, it is a form of national prayer, prayer that perhaps would have taken place in the parish church at one time, but is now expressed in our domestic sanctuaries. And it is encouraging to see that bell ringing, at least in some form, is still one of the public acts that the nation turns to in times of celebration or mourning. Long may that continue.
Max Drinkwater
Haverhill & Withersfield,
Diocese of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich