1997 saw the formation of the “Ring in 2000” Group which was set up to co-ordinate and drive the Guild contribution to the national initiative. The aim of this initiative is to have all church bells in Great Britain sounded for at least 5 minutes at noon on 01/01/2000 as the initial part of a service in every church. This is therefore a “once in a lifetime” opportunity to recruit a substantial number of new ringers, and also to encourage lapsed ringers back into the ringing fraternity.
After analysing the number of bells in the Guild’s area and the number of Guild members, we concluded that an increase in members of 10% to 20% will be needed (i.e. around 200 ringers) to enable all bells to be sounded at the same time, although chimes and single bells etc. will be the responsibility of the local clergy.
The obvious benefits to the Guild through increased membership promoted a request for financial support, which the Executive Committee provisionally approved at the November meeting, subject to the acceptance of a detailed business plan at the March 1998 meeting. The money requested would be used to fund the production of 10,000 promotional colour leaflets, and the construction/use of a display stand at fairs, shows, etc.
The main emphasis for 1998 is recruitment of new/lapsed ringers and identification of bells in the Guild and non-Guild member ringers. For 1999, training of the new recruits will be a priority, along with “placing” of the available ringers for the event itself. Obviously for us to have any chance of succeeding in this very challenging objective, the positive support of all Guild members is essential.
Andrew C Pickett