<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div dir="auto">They used to be like that in Medieval England, hence why the Naive was empty of pews etc.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">It was the church of England that did that to bring in rents for pews etc.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">In the long run they have lost out, due to the fact that they have not been welcoming to other groups, churches, traditions, and very often to the people who live in the said areas.</div><div dir="auto">Basically they have mis used why they are their in gain of power.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">The whole purpose of the church of England being a national church in the 21st century serves no purpose, and it needs to quickly address what and for who it is serving.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">The sadness of church closure by the church commissioners and it's senior management has been part of its downturn not forgetting its millions of pounds that disappeared over night in the 80s / 90s.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Sadly a lot of the churches forced into redundancy have been rhe good ones with good organs, bells, etc.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">While some of the poorer end of the spectrum has been kept.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">It would of been better to have given these to villages etc as village Halls, giving a ecumenical communion service in them once a month, and keeping the bells as village activities under the care and ownership of the village council.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">This last year will have a great impact on how each tradition worships in this country and it would be far better in coming together in unity and cohesion under one roof.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div id="composer_signature" dir="auto"><div style="font-size:85%;color:#575757" dir="auto">Sent from my Galaxy</div></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div><br></div><div align="left" dir="auto" style="font-size:100%;color:#000000"><div>-------- Original message --------</div><div>From: David Kelly <david@thekloof.co.uk> </div><div>Date: 31/01/2021 12:36 (GMT+00:00) </div><div>To: 'Bell Historians Mailing List' <bell-historians@lists.ringingworld.co.uk> </div><div>Subject: Re: [Bell Historians] Listing rings etc cast since 1890 </div><div><br></div></div><div class="WordSection1"><p class="MsoNormal">Following on from today’s postings.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">I think the CBC Bells Committee is an anachronism. In these changing times when it is likely more churches will close their doors it is unrealistic for organisations such as the CBC throwing a spanner in the works of those committed parishioners and locals who are prepared to maintain and improve their church buildings. </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">It is not just bells; local church buildings need to be adapted to make them of more use to the community and this is often resisted by the “Bodies which need to be consulted” for Faculty approval. There needs to be a complete re-think of our & the heritage body attitudes. In my view we should be looking at improving community use of our church buildings. Which is better, a church building that is adapted to community use or one that closes because it cannot be altered because of Heritage body objections?</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Dave</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p></div></body></html>