Bells can do much more than announcing church services. Ringing for public events is an excellent way to join in with community celebration, and helps to connect ringers with the general public. There are many opportunities for which you can ring: current events; anniversaries of historic events; and notable annual days, including church festivals. There may well be other local events and anniversaries that you could also mark with ringing, so try to find out about them early enough to plan your ringing. See also the periodic articles on ringing for public events periodically published in The Ringing World and also available here.
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The following tables list notable national or international dates in various ways to help you plan ahead:
- Notable Events – Coming Year
- Historic Anniversaries
- Notable Secular Annual Days
- Notable Church Festivals
If you would like to suggest extra items for these tables, please email.
Major Ringing Events
For some events the Council asks for widespread ringing, coordinated across the country (or world for events of international significance). These are either events with such a high profile that the public will expect ringing, or events for which the church or government has specifically requested widespread ringing. In both cases a coordinated effort and engagement with both national and local media can achieve far higher impact on the public consciousness than purely local initiatives.
Major ringing events are normally announced well ahead so that ringers can plan in advance, and chosen selectively to maximise the impact of publicity, since media agencies can tire of news if they feel inundated. But occasionally external requests for ringing (from church or government) may come at much shorter notice. If an event is controversial (for example the centenary of the 1914 war) the Council consults with ringers before recommending how it should be commemorated.
