St John the Evangelist, Elkstone is hoping to perform a ‘full peal’ on its newly restored church bells as part of Ride and Stride on 11 September.
The bells were reinstalled this year after being restored with the help of a grant of £5,000 from Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust (GHCT).
The church is keen to support the charity in its 40th anniversary year and to show their gratitude by ringing a marathon of 5,040 continuous changes taking around 3 hours to complete.
The annual Ride+Stride event which has been hugely successful in recent years, sees cyclists, walkers and horse riders raising money through being sponsored to visit as many churches and chapels in the area as possible throughout the day. The money raised by Ride and Stride is then shared between Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust and local churches of all Christian denominations in Gloucestershire and North Bristol.
The event is a highlight in GHCT’s 40th anniversary year celebrations and the Trust has high hopes it will be a record-breaking year of fundraising. Many churches in the area will be open on the day providing refreshments and allowing visitors to look around.
Colin Senior, Chairman of the Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust said, “We are very excited to have already heard from lots of churches as well as individual participants who are planning to take part in this year’s Ride + Stride. It’s a great event for people who want to get out and enjoy the fine historic buildings the area has to offer while fundraising to ensure they are here to be enjoyed for generations to come.”
GHCT has provided grants totalling over 2 million pounds in the 40 years since it began. The money raised by the Trust goes towards vital repairs and renovations that help to keep chapels, churches and meeting houses alive as active centres of community life and landmarks of the wonderful architectural heritage in the area.
For information on how to take part in this year’s Ride + Stride, visit the GHCT website: https://ghct.org.uk/ride-and-stride
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