Church bells ring
FOURWAYS - The close-knit community of All Saints Anglican Church, Fourways Gardens, welcomed a group of 29 church bell ringers from England to the country.
On 18 January, the All Saints Anglican Church, parish member Brian Stacey and the group of bell ringers, engaged in a harmonic bell ringing session that took place at the church.
The ringers go to various churches around the country ringing and donating bells to churches, in order to keep the tradition of bell ringing alive. The group is set to fly to Durban, Grahamstown and Cape Town ringing bells in various churches around the country. One of the visiting bell ringers, David Kelly, said it is not uncommon for bell ringers to go around to different churches engaging in the practice of ringing with local ringers.
The Keltek Trust, a non-profit organisation, donated six bells to the All Saints Anglican Church and to St Peter’s Preparatory School in Paulshof. Bell ringing, which has been around for hundreds of years, is still used as a way of summoning the community to the church.
The heaviest bell currently at All Saints Anglican Church weighs 136 kilograms, which Stacey said is light in comparison to some bells that can weigh up to a ton.
Stacey said he became involved in bell ringing four years ago when the church installed its first set of bells. He said bell ringing is a discipline, however it is not a strenuous exercise so anyone is welcome to join in and participate.
