Ding Dong merrily on high!

Over the past couple of years, alot of work has gone into restoring our well-loved Church to its former glory. We were blessed to have received a Heritage Lottery Grant to help with the high level repairs, particularly at the gable ends, and the pointing and stabilising of the tower.

Within the tower is a 750 Kg Bell which has been out of action for many years now. From footage taken about ten years ago, you can see that when the bell is rung, the whole cradle of the bell begins to move in a frightening manner

In this Year of St Joseph, the aim is to restore this bell, to conserve and re-decorate the bell frame and bell fittings, to repair the bell wheel, and treat the metalwork items with rust inhibitor. This will enable the bell to be swung again and resound across our neighbourhood. Bells are important features of our life, reminding people of the presence of the Church in the world, celebrating the high feast days and occasions such as weddings, and marking those solemn moments too, such as at the funeral of a loved one. We also hope to install an electromagnetically-operated chime hammer to sound the bell for the Angelus at midday and at 6pm and to mark the moment of consecration during the Mass.

Having restored the rest of the Church, it would be remiss not to restore the bell too, and St Joseph’s is looking for donations to this project, that the bell of St Joseph may resound once again over Skerton. If you would like to donate and support this project, please make a cheque out payable to ‘St Joseph’s Church’, or contact Fr Philip for bank details.