NEWS
At the end of their journey along the nave, the figurines of the three Magi arrived at the crib in time for the Feast of the Epiphany on 6th January. The festival celebrates the visit by the Magi to the baby Jesus, indicating that Christ, the Jewish Messiah, had also come for the salvation of the Gentiles.
The PCC met for routine business on Thursday 8th January.
Holy Trinity Barsham now has its own Facebook page. To find it, enter into the Facebook search bar ‘Church of the Most Holy Trinity Barsham’.
Although probably only a minority of visitors use the visitors book, an audit of entries nevertheless reveals something of the profile of our visitors. In 2025 there was a significant increase in the number of entries, with 115 entries representing 242 people (just 123 named people in 2024). Visitors came from 19 of the 39 historical English counties as well as from Wales, and more than half of all visitors came from Norfolk or Suffolk. Overseas visitors came from Germany, the USA (Virginia), Mexico and Australia. Remarks typically referred to the beauty of the church, its atmosphere and historical interest, and 11 sets of visitors came in search of ancestral links. Others were impressed by its care, and one appreciative visitor wrote, ‘Blessings and praise to the cleaners’!
The Christmas raffle organised so expertly by Diana raised a record sum of £321.00.
The PCC acknowledges with thanks the kind anonymous donation at Christmas of £40.00 towards the cost of providing church candles.
Donations from the Christmas Card Tree in the Lady Chapel have enabled us to send £200.00 to WaterAid. Many thanks to Sarah Jane for arranging this once again.
160 items were donated to the Beccles Foodbank in December, bringing the total number of items donated in 2025 to 2,364.
FORWARD PLANNING
There will be a Benefice Evensong for Candlemas at Holy Trinity Barsham at3pm on Sunday 1st February, with tea afterwards.
SNIPPETS – Spotlight on the East Window
The tracery of the East window at Barsham has been the subject of much debate and comment but less has been said about the stained glass. Installed in the 1870s, the glass was commissioned by Barsham’s first Anglo-Catholic rector, the Revd RAJ Suckling (Rector 1868-1880 and Patron 1868-1917), and made by Charles Kempe, a devout Anglo-Catholic, who would go on to become one of the most celebrated stained glass makers and designers of church fittings of his day. The commission was typical of the Anglo-Catholic Movement, which favoured a form of elaborate church decoration not seen since the Reformation of the 16th and 17th centuries. The subject matter in the glass was inspired by some key tenets of Anglo-Catholicism, and understanding these is the key to appreciating the window.
The Anglo-Catholic Movement emphasised its continuity with the historic Catholic Church, drawing its beliefs, liturgy and practices from the early Church, including the authority of early Church teachings, which had been shaped by the seven Ecumenical Councils and the writings of the theologians collectively known as the Early Church Fathers. So too, Anglo-Catholics emphasised the Apostolic Succession, believing bishops to be the successors of the Apostles of Christ, performing the same functions (preaching, governing, ordaining) and passing on the authority of the Apostles from one generation of bishops to the next in unbroken line. Three further elements of Anglo-Catholic practice and belief relevant here are the central place of the Eucharist with the Real Presence of Christ, devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the intercession of the saints.
This is the context for the window and its 21 saints. There in the very centre is the Blessed Virgin Mary with Christ child, and in the bottom row Mary and the Annunciation. The top row of four depicts the Apostles John and Peter, and two other foundational figures from earliest Christianity, John the Baptist and Paul. Two rows below are the figures of the so-called Great Church Fathers: St Gregory, St Augustine of Hippo, St Jerome and St Ambrose, theologians and pillars of the early Church whose writings did much to establish the intellectual and doctrinal foundation of Christianity.
Of the five saints in the row below the Great Church Fathers, St Felix (centre) and St Edmund (far left) are local saints, the latter also regarded as one of the patron saints of England until the Tudor period. St Benedict (centre right) was the founder of the Benedictine Order, selected presumably to reflect the Anglo-Catholic revival of Benedictine monasticism within the Anglican Communion. Likewise, the inclusion of St Mildred (centre left), the 8th century abbess of the Benedictine abbey at Minster in Thanet, highlights the revival of religious orders for women (two of RAJ Suckling’s sisters were Anglican nuns in the order All Saints Sisters of the Poor). St Lucian of Antioch (far right) was a significant theologian of the early Church but his presence here is more likely to symbolise the central importance of the Eucharist and in it theReal Presence of Christ, especially in times of persecution (in the 1870s Anglo-Catholic priests were persecuted both by the conservative Church hierarchy and by Parliament). The story goes that whilst awaiting execution alongside fellow Christians in a Roman prison, Lucian lay down and allowed the bread and wine to be placed on his chest as a ‘living altar for the Living God’ as there was no proper altar or suitable surface available, thus enabling his fellows to receive communion before they were martyred. In Christian art, as in the Barsham window, Lucian is often depicted with the elements of the Eucharist on his chest.
FEBRUARY DIARY
Sunday 1st February – Septuagesima. Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany. Presentation of Christ in the Temple - Candlemas.
11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Revd Jonathan Olanczuk.
3pm Evensong for Candlemas with tea after. Revd Graham Naylor.
Sunday 8th February – Sexagesima. Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Revd Canon John Fellows.
Sunday 15th February – Quinquagesima. Last Sunday after the Epiphany. 11.15am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Revd Desmond Banister.
Wednesday 18th February – Ash Wednesday. Holy Communion with Ashing: 10am at Holy Trinity Bungay and 7pm at All Saints Mettingham. Revd Graham Naylor.
Sunday 22nd February – First Sunday in Lent. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Revd Graham Naylor.
Church correspondent: Robert Bacon 07867 306016, [email protected]