After nearly 40 years (the last one was in 1988), the Central Council is again taking a census of worldwide bellringing, and the NAGCR officers want to be sure North American ringing is well-represented.  In a few weeks we'll email all NAGCR members instructions on how to take part — so keep your eyes peeled and be ready to respond promptly!  In the meantime, see below for information from the Central Council (the umbrella group of which the NAGCR is a member) outlining the Census plans.  Thanks in advance for your participation!

(Our apologies; an earlier version of this email was missing the forwarded information from the Central Council.)

With appreciation,The NAGCR Officers: Eileen Butler, Mary Platt, Melissa Cheng, Quilla Roth, Rick DuPuy, Rob Bannister, Tom Farthing

Central Council of Church Bell Ringers Ringing Census 2026

Every ringer and every tower counts

From 16–22 November 2026, bellringers everywhere are invited to take part in the Ringing Census. The Census will help build a clearer picture of ringing today and provide evidence to support its future development.

The Census is for everyone

Bellringers of all ages and experience levels, wherever they live, are welcome to take part. Whether you ring every week, occasionally, or are just starting out, your contribution matters.

Taking part is entirely voluntary. The questionnaire should take 5-10 minutes for the individual census and 10-15 minutes for the tower census.

Every tower matters

Please help make sure your tower is included. Share information about the Census with your band and encourage fellow ringers to take part. The more people who respond, the more representative the results will be.

Why take part?

We do not currently have a reliable picture of how many people ring, how often they ring, or where ringing is changing. The Census will help provide that evidence and inform work on recruitment, retention, training and long-term planning, including the ambitions of Ringing 2030.

Your information

We will not be collecting any personal identifiable information or data on special category information. For our full data protection statement please visit cccbr.org.uk/census

Find out more

Visit the CCCBR Ringing Census page for the latest information: cccbr.org.uk/census

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