I gave a talk last night to our evening group on bell ringing
and the part it has played in my own faith journey, bringing me back into
church at the West end of the building before progressing up the nave as a
church member, joining the choir in the chancel and now as a priest in the
sanctuary, about as far towards the East end of the church that you can get! I repeat this journey most Sundays as a
committed bell ringer and Christian minister.
I shared how we begin our ringing on a Sunday morning with a
prayer that the bells will call people to worship and that bell ringers are
doing a great service to the church in this form of ministry, pointing out that
many ringers will not stay to join the congregation because they move on to
ring at another tower in a neighbouring town or village. Indeed, without such committed ringers, the
number of churches having their bells rung on a Sunday would be far fewer.
So, inevitably the question of whether bell ringing should
be recognised as a sport came up as a result of the article in the
Times. My reaction: Why not?
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| 17th century dumbbell at Knole House, Kent (drawing on p.58 of History and Art of Change Ringing, Ernest Morris) from www.jrnorris.co.uk/dumbbell.html |
It is certainly physical, still known as “the exercise” and
the place where the “dumbbell” originates, as gentlemen would go for a workout
on a tied bell so that it wouldn’t disturb the neighbours. I pity all the people who sign up for gym membership
when there is a free gym in most church towers, although you will have to be
suitably trained to use the equipment! Ringing
involves considerable commitment to take control of a bell – a skill-level requiring
several weeks of regular practice before being able to join in with the rest of
the band, and then open to a lifetime of further improvement, greater challenge
and complexity. It involves teamwork,
and also healthy competition in the form of striking competitions which also
encourage bands to aim for a higher standard, removing the clashes and gaps
that spoil the rhythm. All this goes on
to make the ringing on a Sunday morning the best that we can offer.
Whilst I understand that some may have objections in case
the sporting aspect were to detract from their main aim of ringing to the glory
of God, my natural instinct is always to break down any sacred/secular divide. We welcome the arts into church, so why not
sport too? I’ve been a long term
supporter of Christians in Sport
and encourage Christians to witness to their faith in this or any other
environment, whether at home, workplace or leisure space (one of the aims of the Cursillo Movement). Most football teams in Victorian times were started
by churches, and even the secularists would struggle to prevent “Abide with me”
or “O when the saints go marching in” from being sung at a football ground –
sport and religion do mix, as do science and religion or anything else that you
care to name. God is in all things – he created
us and everything around us.
Bell ringing had a large part to play in my own faith
journey. It was only after walking away
from church after ringing, and seeing the late arrivals rushing to get there,
that I questioned my own beliefs and was challenged to read the Bible. If sport can bring people into a place of
faith, I think Jesus would say “Let the sporting come unto me and do not stop
them”.
