Simon Linford, President of CCCBR issued the statement below on 19th March 2021 regarding ringing on Easter Sunday:
Many incumbents are asking if some bells can be rung as part of their church or cathedral’s Easter celebrations, and bellringers are also keen to play part. The Central Council believes that bells are an important part of the act of worship, particularly on Easter Sunday. Unlike at Christmas, UK and Irish Governments have not introduced any relaxations of the rules on meeting indoors for Easter. Those rules are readily available and well understood.
We have established guidance on reducing the risk of ringing both to ourselves and each other, and most recently published our latest thinking on virus transmission and ventilation in ringing chambers, with chancel crossings at one end of the risk scale and small airless rooms at the other. We recommend considering all these factors when decided how many bells can be rung and for how long, in consultation with your incumbent, churchwardens or Cathedral Chapters.
One or more bells ringing on Easter Sunday will surely be appreciated by our churches and communities.
Simon Linford
President
Central Council of Church Bell Ringers
Link to article on CCCBR website Easter Sunday ringing – CCCBR
Please note, ringing should only take place after consultation with the incumbent and provided health and safety restrictions, ventilation etc. are adhered to. This should also include inspection of bells as many will not have been rung for over 12 months.
We were informed by our Local ringing society, that as an affiliated tower we must obey their instructions. Their instructions were that only one bell could be rung unless two or more ringers lived at the same address in which case two or more bells could be rung. Our local community was looking forward to hearing six or eight bells rung in one or other of our two churches. Instead they had one bell only at each church. How many churches rang all their bells on Easter Sunday 2021.