St Mary the Virgin Church bell ringers. From left to right: Geoff Horritt, Don Salisbury, Pat Salisbury, Father Andrew, Carolyn Rutherford, Margaret Horritt, Jo Schurch and Bob Langley
Chandni Tanna
Thursday, November 15, 2012
10:00 AM
A CHURCH has made a dramatic U-turn on when it will ring its bells on Christmas morning, after overwhelming numbers voiced their disgust.
No compromise into church bell timings
A COMPROMISE should not be reached to change the times bells have tolled for centuries, a public meeting heard.
At a meeting of the Baldock and district committee of North Herts District Council on Monday night, more than 50 people packed into the town?s community centre to air their views.
Colin Wing who has lived in the town for 20 years and lives close to the church, said: ?I have brought up a family in this town and I feel we would be poorer without the church bells ringing.
?No doubt the bells have kept us awake at times but we knew what we bought into when we bought our house.
?Our children have learnt to sleep through it.
?The 10.45 bells signal to us it?s time for bed, the 7am bells tell me I need to leave the house to catch my train to work.
?The bells are a part of Baldock life.?
Another resident, who has lived in the town for 66 years but did not wish to be named, said: ?The church has made a knee-jerk reaction to the complaint.
?The vicar is a great man and a compassionate person, but we think he should re-think and call another meeting.
?One person should not sway the decision of the church.?
St Mary the Virgin Church in Baldock had changed the times of the traditional ringing of eight bells for the 8am service on Christmas Day after a member of the public made a complaint to North Herts District Council saying the bells were too loud and rang too frequently.
The complaint took issue with the clock bells chiming every 15 minutes from 7am to 10.45pm each day, resulting in a decision by Rev Andrew Holford and churchwardens to ring a single bell at 8am on Christmas morning for about 45 seconds instead of the traditional 20-minute toll.
But since the article in the Comet, people began airing their opinions on social networking sites Twitter and Facebook.
In response a tweet from North Herts District Council said: ?To clarify this issue, the council is not requiring any action regarding the bells.
?We received a complaint which we are legally obliged to look into. We have encouraged church and community to reach a solution rather than take any formal action.
?Also we did not initiate any discussion about bells at Christmas.?
Rev Holford said: ?I and the churchwardens of St Mary?s Baldock are surprised but pleased at the tweet from North Herts District Council.
?We?re also delighted about the level of support from the people of the town and the obvious affection felt about the church and the bells.
?This is evident from the 1,750 people who, within 48 hours, joined a Facebook page supporting the bells.
?As a result we have decided we can no longer assent to the agreement reached 10 days ago, as we feel it does not give the right balance between the views of the people of the town and those who feel their lives are adversely affected by the bells.
?Therefore the agreement will no longer stand and we are pursuing an outcome which reflects balance and compassion.?
Rev Holford said the bells will ring for the early service at 8am on Christmas Day and the clock will strike daily between 8am and 9.45pm as they have for centuries.
To have your say on the Baldock bells vote in our poll at the bottom of the home page.
Source: http://www.thecomet.net/video_christmas_morning_bells_will_ring_at_church_in_baldock_1_1694190
vince carter sweet potato casserole safeway standing rib roast its a wonderful life its a wonderful life rex ryan
No comments:
Post a Comment