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| Volunteer York Minster bellringer vents his anger over sacking | Volunteer York Minster bellringer vents his anger over sacking |
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| A volunteer bellringer has vented his anger at becoming the latest person to be sacked at York Minster after he was dismissed for criticising the decision to let go 30 fellow volunteers. | A volunteer bellringer has vented his anger at becoming the latest person to be sacked at York Minster after he was dismissed for criticising the decision to let go 30 fellow volunteers. |
| John Ridgeway-Wood, who has been playing the cathedral’s smaller Carillon bells for over 10 years, had been suspended after publicly disapproving of the minister’s decision earlier this week to sack the volunteers and hire a paid head of bellringing who would recruit their own team next year. | John Ridgeway-Wood, who has been playing the cathedral’s smaller Carillon bells for over 10 years, had been suspended after publicly disapproving of the minister’s decision earlier this week to sack the volunteers and hire a paid head of bellringing who would recruit their own team next year. |
| After commenting to the press and on social media, Ridgeway-Wood was invited to a meeting to discuss his remarks or face the sack. He declined to attend and was subsequently dismissed. | After commenting to the press and on social media, Ridgeway-Wood was invited to a meeting to discuss his remarks or face the sack. He declined to attend and was subsequently dismissed. |
| In a letter, the minster’s canon precentor, Peter Moger, said his comments had been “intemperate” and “objectionable”, and had contravened the chapter’s volunteer agreement and social media policy. | In a letter, the minster’s canon precentor, Peter Moger, said his comments had been “intemperate” and “objectionable”, and had contravened the chapter’s volunteer agreement and social media policy. |
| “I think what’s happened at the minster is utterly despicable,” said Ridgeway-Wood. “A tradition that’s been going on for centuries has just ended so abruptly ... This is hardly a christian, charitable way of doing things.” | “I think what’s happened at the minster is utterly despicable,” said Ridgeway-Wood. “A tradition that’s been going on for centuries has just ended so abruptly ... This is hardly a christian, charitable way of doing things.” |
| He said the dean, Vivienne Faull, had introduced a corporate atmosphere, adding: “They’re a bunch of control freaks ... no one dare speak for fear of being handbagged by the dean.” | He said the dean, Vivienne Faull, had introduced a corporate atmosphere, adding: “They’re a bunch of control freaks ... no one dare speak for fear of being handbagged by the dean.” |
| He denied he had used inappropriate language when criticising the church’s decision. “When I heard about this I was so shocked. I went onto Facebook and I said, ‘I am shocked and saddened that last night all 30 of the minster bellringers were sacked’. That’s all.” | He denied he had used inappropriate language when criticising the church’s decision. “When I heard about this I was so shocked. I went onto Facebook and I said, ‘I am shocked and saddened that last night all 30 of the minster bellringers were sacked’. That’s all.” |
| Faull was appointed to the position of dean of York in 2012 and embarked on a programme to modernise the cathedral’s operations. | |
| Ridgeway-Wood denied that he had used inappropriate language when criticising the church’s decision. “When I heard about this I was so shocked. I went onto Facebook and I said ‘I am shocked and saddened that last night all 30 of the minster bellringers were sacked’. That’s all.” | |
| In a letter to the volunteers on Tuesday, headed: “York Minster invites everyone to discover God’s love”, Moger said the church was working towards having a “fully trained, motivated and engaged community of staff and volunteers” by 2020. | In a letter to the volunteers on Tuesday, headed: “York Minster invites everyone to discover God’s love”, Moger said the church was working towards having a “fully trained, motivated and engaged community of staff and volunteers” by 2020. |
| “Following similar changes within our flower-arranging, broderie, collections and police teams, [we] will recruit a head bellringer, who will then oversee the recruitment and activity of a new team of volunteer bellringers,” he said. | “Following similar changes within our flower-arranging, broderie, collections and police teams, [we] will recruit a head bellringer, who will then oversee the recruitment and activity of a new team of volunteer bellringers,” he said. |
| Following the sackings, the famous bells will not be heard again until the new year, breaking with the tradition of ringing them on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve as well as on Remembrance Sunday. | Following the sackings, the famous bells will not be heard again until the new year, breaking with the tradition of ringing them on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve as well as on Remembrance Sunday. |
| A petition to persuade the minster to allow the bellringers to ring the bells on Remembrance Sunday and Christmas and New Year’s Eve had over 5,000 signatures on Friday afternoon. | A petition to persuade the minster to allow the bellringers to ring the bells on Remembrance Sunday and Christmas and New Year’s Eve had over 5,000 signatures on Friday afternoon. |
| Sharon Atkinson, director of communications at York Minster, said she could not comment on Ridgeway-Wood’s dismissal. “For us it’s a matter of confidentiality. It’s an HR-related issue even though he’s a volunteer, so I won’t be commenting on that.” | Sharon Atkinson, director of communications at York Minster, said she could not comment on Ridgeway-Wood’s dismissal. “For us it’s a matter of confidentiality. It’s an HR-related issue even though he’s a volunteer, so I won’t be commenting on that.” |
| She said the minster was two years into modernising its “processes around governance, safety, security, training, education, recruitment of our staff and our volunteers” and that there had been concerns about health and safety among the bellringers. | She said the minster was two years into modernising its “processes around governance, safety, security, training, education, recruitment of our staff and our volunteers” and that there had been concerns about health and safety among the bellringers. |
| She said the newly selected group of bellringers would be given health and safety training so that they “understand fully why we have to ask them to do things that we need them to do, in the way that we need them to do them”. | She said the newly selected group of bellringers would be given health and safety training so that they “understand fully why we have to ask them to do things that we need them to do, in the way that we need them to do them”. |
| “Actually, it would be quite nice to be able to open it up to other people,” she said, adding that they hoped to recruit “a more diverse range of people”. | “Actually, it would be quite nice to be able to open it up to other people,” she said, adding that they hoped to recruit “a more diverse range of people”. |
| “We’ve already started getting emails from people who have said things like ‘we’ve always been interested in it, but never thought we’d be able to get in’ and it’s about opening up what is frankly a bit of a closed world to a much wider group of people.” | “We’ve already started getting emails from people who have said things like ‘we’ve always been interested in it, but never thought we’d be able to get in’ and it’s about opening up what is frankly a bit of a closed world to a much wider group of people.” |
| She added: “I think the news was obviously hard to take and they [the bellringers] are very angry and they’re using the media to express their anger and there’s not much that we can do about that. We don’t really want to have an angry debate with them in the media and that’s not what we’re going to do.” | She added: “I think the news was obviously hard to take and they [the bellringers] are very angry and they’re using the media to express their anger and there’s not much that we can do about that. We don’t really want to have an angry debate with them in the media and that’s not what we’re going to do.” |