You’re warmly invited to enjoy a rare opportunity to watch the blessing of our new church bells online, via this wonderful recording made by our Choirmaster Ben Humphries.
This special ceremony, for which the bells were adorned with flowers, involved naming the bells, christening them with holy water and anointing them with oil.
So rare is the ceremony that our vicar, the Rev Richard Thomson, had never done one before, and our highly experienced bellringing teacher James Joynson had never witnessed one.
Despite the Covid-related restrictions on numbers for the congregation and the choir (the six ladies allowed to sing sounded wonderful), this historic service was truly celebratory, and it was a joy to see the fruit of four years of careful planning and fundraising. Special thanks to the generosity of John Appleby, without whom this project would not have been possible.
The service has now been watched by friends of St Mary’s around the world. You too may now relive the experience and enjoy it at your leisure via YouTube here:
(Find out more about Ben Humphries and his videography at his website: http://www.bhwh.co.uk)
Friends of St Mary's Hawkesbury 