The Essex Association of Change Ringers President: The Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of Chelmsford

Welcome to the web site of the Essex Association of Change Ringers

Founded at Writtle, near Chelmsford, in 1879 the Association predates the Diocese of Chelmsford by some 35 years. Its boundaries are those of the old county of Essex prior to 1st April 1965. With a membership of over 1000, the Association is committed to the furtherance of the work of the Church by ringing bells, promoting bells and bell ringers, and keeping the bells of Essex churches ringing. This is achieved by giving help and advice in the maintenance of bell installations, by making grants available for restoration and improvement projects, and by offering opportunities for training and advancement in 'method ringing'.

 

A few words from the new Master

I feel extremely privileged to have been elected your new Master at the recent AGM. The Essex Association has been very fortunate over many years past in having such excellent Officers, not only Masters, but also General Secretaries, Treasurers and others at Association and District level. Their hard work and enthusiasm has done much to create the active and well run Association we all benefit from. As one who often rings with those from other parts of the country, I can tell you that ringing in Essex is doing comparatively well. As your Master I will seek to maintain all the excellent work of the past, and to represent the Association to the best of my ability to the Church and the wider community.

However, we must also look to the future. We are an Association of change-ringers, as well as being a body of church-bell ringers. Whilst maintaining our work of Church service we must also work to secure the future of our heritage - change-ringing itself. Notwithstanding much excellent youth work, we are an ageing group. It will be a priority of mine to see what more can be done to encourage young people into ringing - these are the people who will be ringing congregations into Church in 30 years time. My second and equal priority will be to encourage the Association to increase its efforts to raise the public awareness and understanding of ringing, and to widen community interest and involvement in our art. By this means we can hope to increase our potential recruitment base, and do our bit to secure the future of ringing in this county.

If you have any ideas on how the Association could do more to benefit ringing in Essex, then I would like to hear from you. I believe that new and innovative approaches to recruitment and teaching are needed if we are to keep ringing in Essex in a healthy position. or phone 01376 562892.

Finally, we are all ringers mainly because we get so much fun out of it. Let's work to make sure that that is what comes over to everybody in Essex - ringers and non-ringers alike.

BRIAN MEADS