Welcome to all our new members who joined the Sussex County Association as a result of the Ringing Remembers campaign, sponsored by the Government in collaboration with the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers to recruit new ringers to honour those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for the liberties we enjoy today. Welcome to a big friendly family of bellringers around the UK and the world, but for now, while you’re learning this special art, here in Sussex. Bellringing is an important part of church life, and by honouring those who went before us we are keeping the tradition and our communities alive. We’re keeping our minds and bodies healthy too, making new friends and learning to value the importance of volunteering. Weekly practice and ringing for Sunday service is a much-valued contribution, thank you. If you have other skills you can offer, belfry maintenance, social media, organising events, photographer, fundraising, upholstery, baking, tidying the ringing room, you name it we’ll use it – let us know! Our Association is what we make it.
We held our Annual District Meetings each Saturday in February, which involved some varied ringing, some fantastic teas and some essential laughs and chats for the business of the day. See your District Newsletters for details or download them from the SCACR website. Each District is planning events for the whole year, and this year it’s the East’s turn to hold the AGM which this year will be in Eastbourne, with an opportunity to ring at four churches, including and ending up at All Saint’s for the service tea and meeting, where a Bell Restoration Project has commenced to refurbish the bells.
As a result of the implementation of GDPR and the need for increased cyber-security protection we have had to move away from our This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. email addresses. There is now a ‘contact a tower’ option on the website with a drop-down menu to pick the tower so it should be easy to contact towers for queries, visits or outings. Please let us know if something isn’t working. The ‘contact us’ forms on the website are part of the constant IT development by our dedicated team of specialist volunteers, ably led by Richard Pendlebury, Webmaster, who has a full-time job and a busy life too so we are incredibly grateful for all his labours.
Dewbys Bells again this year generously sponsored places for SCACR members to attend the Association of Ringing Teachers Annual Conference and Awards, this year in Worcester. See article in Soundbow and read more here.
To reinforce the message that bellringing is an integral part of our churches and community life the Chichester Diocese has again this year invited us to join them in their Sanctuary Area (by the Abergavenny Building if you’re looking on the map) at the South of England Show. Thank you in anticipation to the volunteers who are signing up to help out over the three-day event, as before, if you volunteer for half the day then you get to enjoy the rest of the show for the other half. It’s a fantastic day out, hope to see you there!
Alison Everett
SCACR Communication & Events Team Leader