If you attend a formal ringing society meeting, you’re likely to find a ringers’ service placed between a spell of open ringing and your ringers’ tea. The service reminds us that if it weren’t for the churches, we’d never have learned to ring. Bells were once the social media of the parish – calling the faithful to worship and, as now, announcing matches, dispatches and other significant occasions taking place in church.

There’s usually a hymn which celebrates making a great noise and makes you want to sing; a reading which you may not have come across before (often from Isaiah and usually rather lovely), and a prayer which celebrates how special ringing is – as an art and a science in the making of the bells and the ringing of them; as a reminder of how long bells have been around and their historic role in communications; and as a musical sound which (like drumming) has an almost inexplicable but universal effect on anyone who hears the sound.

A minister or other speaker will tell a good story, thank the ringers for their service to the church, and keep the words brief, knowing that a good tea follows for all present! You’ll find wonderful histories told in the plaques on the walls, fabulous stained glass in the windows, a sense of following where many have gone before, and a feeling that you’ve truly earned your tea. It’s a sign of respect to attend the ringers’ service – an easy and pleasant homage of thirty minutes on a hot summer’s afternoon.

 

Have a pound or two extra for collection on top of your tea money; wear warm boots/coat in winter and a spare jumper in summer!

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