A report of the last Young ringers meeting in Guildford in July was given with 15 taking part plus helpers and parents. The next mini-outing with be held jointly with the Sussex Young Ringers and the Surrey Strikers on 1st November in the Guildford District.
The Executive Committee reviewed the current financial position of both the General Fund, which is expected to end the year with a small surplus, and the Bell Restoration Fund.
The Bell Restoration Adviser reports slow progress on the two remaining Bridget Gordon Legacy applications at Old Woking and Holy Trinity, Guildford. The work to repair the frame at Cranleigh is complete. There are no new applications
The new Librarian has been making progress reviewing the contents and processes and will be making some recommendations in the near future.
The Public Relation Officer reported brisk use of the Guild website, and the tower information has received a temporary fix with the publication of a table showing tower details and contacts. The pull-up banners have been well used and will need replacing soon. It was decided to wait until more information on the Central Council Branding exercise before a final decision is made on replacements.
The Safeguarding Officer met with the Head of Safeguarding from the Diocese, to review developments in safeguarding and church bellringing at national and Diocesan level, and to examine the Guild arrangements, including a review of the Guild Safeguarding Policy, which was adopted. The Central Council publication “From Practice to Perfect” will be shared with all tower captains
It was agreed not to proceed with the proposed adoption of an online membership system, which would have involved too much change to the Guilds financial processes. The additional advantage of the online system was a better way to communication members, and in its place, more effort will be put into use of the Google groups.
A small sub-group will be formed to look at ideas for celebrating the Guilds centenary in 2027.
Dates for the 2025 striking competitions were agreed. Next years AGM will be held in the Farnham District
One of our Central Council Representatives gave a comprehensive report on the recent CC meeting in Exeter. Items discussed were the increase in CC fees, the newly formed Marketing, Recruitment & Environment work groups, the new branding for which we are waiting for more brand assets to be published and the CofE’s Changing Churches Initiative looking at Churches at risk. It was agreed to print a copy of the Tower & Belfry poster and send to each tower. It provides those with responsibility for bells, with online resources regarding tower management. It was noted the Central council ‘Ringing 2030” initiative was as yet somewhat lacking in detail.
Stuart Aitken , Guild Master