Monday14th June this year will mark the fourth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire in London, which was a major event in the recent history of the Capital and the entire nation.

The Bishop of Kensington, the Rt Revd Graham Tomlin, has written to churches reminding us that last year, many church bells across the country were rung 72 times at 6.00pm on 14th June.

This national act of remembrance was greatly valued by the Grenfell bereaved and survivors, and they have asked if it might be repeated this year.

"There is a sense that until some measure of justice and closure has been achieved through the Grenfell Public Inquiry, and particularly bearing in mind those who continue to be affected by the Cladding Crisis, it is important to keep the memory of Grenfell in the public consciousness, particularly as public acts of remembrance are still limited this year due to the restrictions on gathering due to the pandemic."

If your church is able and willing to take part in this act of remembrance, the idea is to ring church bells 72 times at 7.00pm.

This would initiate two minutes silence, after which there would be four more rings, one for each year since the fire itself; this will serve as a reminder to stop, reflect and remember those who lost their lives that day.

Of course, there is no compulsion to do this, and it is entirely optional. To keep a record of parishes doing this, please sign up on Eventbrite at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ring-for-grenfell-tickets-156640348499 to let the organisers know if you are planning to join in.

In case you plan to join in, you can download some resources here to let others know that you’re taking part:

If you can use whatever social media channels you have to advertise that you are doing it, that will help people realise what the bells mean – please use the hashtag #RingforGrenfell.

Different bells ring at different rates, so some will take longer to ring 72 times than others. The rough idea is to have the two minutes silence at 7.03pm followed by the 4 final rings 2 minutes later. So you may have to work out how long it will take to ring your particular bell 72 times and that may mean starting slightly earlier than 7.00pm. There is no need to worry if the timing is not exactly right, but if the silence comes at roughly 7.03pm that would be ideal.

Diocese of London