Ringing Forums

I think it is not unknown and not completely ignored but declining attendance in churches which have bells (C of E mainly) is also a factor which we struggle to relate to bellringing recruitment.
100 years ago most people went to church and bellringing was an option seen and heard by the congregation.
At some point in the 1980’s (ish, I think) ringing became popular with people who were not religious but enjoyed the patterns involved in methods and proving new methods or peals with computing technology which created a fresh influx of ringers at University age. This is something I’ve been told so feel free to correct me.
That level of recruitment didn’t continue and so we have a population of religious ringers and a population of non religious ringers and both are getting older and now we struggle with how to present ringing as an activity to non religious people (let alone people from other religions) to boost numbers without being disrespectful to the church which provides the bells.
I know a few ringers (like me) who are not entirely comfortable with ‘calling people to service’ to a religion which can be criticised for its attitude to some people and topics within the community.
There is a fine line to tread in recruitment and the relationship with the church as increasingly we need to recruit non religious people whilst respecting the church as host of the bells.

I know a few ringers (like me) who are not entirely comfortable with ‘calling people to service’ to a religion which can be criticised for its attitude to some people and topics within the community. — Lucy Chandhial

I ring for Sunday services because I enjoy ringing. I don't see it as calling people to church. The sound of church bells doesn't make any difference to the numbers attending. Agreed, sometimes when people hear them they are reminded that they need to get to church, if they are attendees. And, people in my village enjoy their sound. I don't see it as a religious act. I ring because I enjoy it. In return, I am exceedingly happy to ring for service and as steeple keeper I do a lot more too. As a member of the congregation I often talk to people about the bells and am often asked about them. But I also do this within my groups of secular friends. It is a question of engaging with the community, we have to be excited about what we do and tell people through word of mouth, social media and most important, being visible. Also, tell people that they don't have to go to church, everyone is welcome and that 100% of our ringing is done as a hobby! But, the relationship with the church is key and must continually be built upon to develop trust between the parties. Ignore it at our peril!

I suppose we could try and tell people that service ringing has nothing to do with the service, but that does seem a little dishonest.

I think @Phillip George is right that ringing the bells probably doesn’t make any difference to church attendance and I too ring before services because I enjoy ringing but I also agree with @Alan C that it would be dishonest to try to disconnect it completely.
I know lots of ringers who manage this little tension as a non religious ringer but I do think it influences how we recruit because we do need to be respectful of the church as the owner of the bells.

Anyone know how to delete a comment that you've started writing then changed you mind? (like this one!)

I've often had text I decided not to send, which just hung around. I found that deleting the text, including the text in square brackets seems to work.
After you have posted though (plus the 10 minutes) I suspect all you can do is reply to yourself saying pleas ignore.

I do think it influences how we recruit because we do need to be respectful of the church as the owner of the bells. — Lucy Chandhial

I completely agree.

". . . very few people have any awareness of Ringing 2030."
I have seen occasional references to this but despite having been a ringer for 60+ years, I confess I have no idea of the purpose/objectives of the scheme. It has never been mentioned in the towers where I ring. I guess it is connected with recruitment and is focused on the major conurbations. That's the elephant in my room!

I ring in a rural village in Cheshire, nearly all the members of the band are members of the Guild, however there is little interest in what goes on outside of the immediate area, and certainly no proactive seeking out of opportunities to ring, I offer lots of these but few are taken up on anything like a regular basis. This is in no way a criticism of any of the ringers, I am personally more engaged with ringing generally and do keep an eye on what is happening at the CCCBR and particularly in ART, but there are very few people that take the same level of interest, I am fairly sure that if our Church closed, then only a few of the band would go elsewhere to ring, they do it because it is local, and they enjoy it to a level. We have an enthusiastic youngster who has declared that when he goes to university next year, the presence of a University RInging Society would be relevant to his choice, but predominately it is purely a hobby for the vast majority, and, if they lost the opportunity to ring, then it wouldn't be the end of the world for them. So I would expect that plans for 2030 are very low on the priority list for the vast majority, you can look at these forums, they are I suspect occupied by the "enthusiasts" and the "dedicated" and we are the minority trying to make decisions for the majority ... ever was it so.

I am fairly sure that if our Church closed, then only a few of the band would go elsewhere to ring, they do it because it is local, and they enjoy it to a level ... predominately it is purely a hobby for the vast majority, — Steve Farmer

That puzzles me slightly. People who do things as a hobby are normally motivated by the activity itself, so I would expect them to look elsewhere if needed. If the response to closure of the local church would be just to give up that suggests limited interest in ringing itself, and doing it more as a duty or service to the church.

only two of the ringers are regular church attendees, so community spirit maybe relevant ..

I think it is not unknown and not completely ignored but declining attendance in churches which have bells (C of E mainly) is also a factor which we struggle to relate to bellringing recruitment.
100 years ago — Lucy Chandhial

Thanks Lucy, so your Elephant is: the continuing and long established decline in congregation numbers (and therefore any historically natural internally generated pipeline of new recruits within the Church) no longer provides the critical mass needed for recruitment and retention as we approach 2030? Which means we need to look beyond the historical catchment area and look towards groups which are not naturally pre-disposed to enter a church building; maybe more secular groups or groups with a different faith, both of which could enjoy ringing (for their own reasons; be that mental physical, social etc) and appreciate at any level, the purpose or value of ringing for Sunday services alongside any practice nights they may also choose to attend?

Boiling it down: Elephant 1 - how do we encourage recruits who are not naturally predisposed to enter a church building? (either because Christianity is not their faith or they have no faith)?

I ring for Sunday services because I enjoy ringing. I don't see it as calling people to church. The sound of church bells doesn't make any difference to the numbers attending. Agreed, sometimes when people hear them they are reminded that they need to get to church, if they are attendees. And, people in my village enjoy their sound. I don't see it as a religious act. I ring because I enjoy it. — Phillip George

Interested, given you attend Church as to why you don't see it as a calling from the Church to attend? I don't go to Church, but I always ring on a Sunday, primarily as a message that the Church is there. It is part payback (so I can ring at other times) but I wouldn't naturally ring on a sunday without that aspect, I would probably just ring 1-2 evenings a week...