A man who came to church initially to ring the bells is now embracing the full experience after he started attending services regularly.
Mark Errington spoke about his faith journey after his confirmation by Bishop Mark at a service in St Paul’s Church, Whitley Bay, where he has served as a bell ringer for eight years.
Had it not been for a work night out, Mark might not have even been ringing the bells at St Paul’s, where he now also serves as steeple keeper.
He explained: “During a work night out, one of my colleagues was telling everyone about her new hobby - bell ringing and how difficult it was. Trying to be funny, I said I bet that’s easy! They held me to it and made sure I went to the next practice night, and eight years later I am still doing it.”
Mark did attend church in his younger days, but only a few times a year when he was in Beavers, Scouts and Army Cadets. But after starting bell ringing, he gradually began attending more often. He was also impressed by the Revd John Vilaseca, who filled the vacancy at St Paul’s shortly before the coronavirus pandemic.
Now Mark is happy to combine his faith with a rewarding vocation which has required a lot of dedication over the years.
He added: “Bell ringing is demanding physically and mentally. It takes a long time to get good at it. You can spend weeks or months just learning how to handle the bell ropes and getting the feel of the bells, then spend years learning to ring the music. However, it is also very fulfilling and joyful, especially when ringing with friends.”
Mark attends other churches with the Durham & Newcastle Diocesan Association of Church Bell Ringers (D&N), which organises monthly meetings at various towers. They usually include bell ringing, a short church service, tea and a meeting.
Locally, he is part of the St Paul’s Guild of Bell Ringers, and also passes on his skills as a bell ringing teacher at the church. After four years of teaching, Mark is currently working towards getting accredited with the Association of Ringing Teachers (ART).
Born in North Shields, Mark has lived in Whitley Bay all his life. As steeple keeper at St Paul’s, he looks after the bells and the tower.
“I am mostly self-taught,” he added. “I have read pretty much every book I can find on bell maintenance, and I do mean pretty much every book as there a not many book written on the subject.”