NEWSHoly Week began with the blessing and distribution of Palm Crosses on Palm Sunday. Some from the congregation attended the service of Holy Communion with foot-washing at Holy Trinity Bungay on Maundy Thursday, and the Meditation at Barsham on Good Friday. On Easter Morning we welcomed a congregation of 65 people to the service. The church looked splendid, with an exquisite arrangement of Easter lilies on the Etchingham tomb and elegant floral displays on the windowsills. It is such a pleasure to see flowers back in the church after Lent and it is a reminder of how lucky we are to have such a talented and dedicated team of flower arrangers. Donations to the Easter Lilies fund totalled £75 and this sum will be forwarded to the Diocesan Tear Fund to provide aid for victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, and those suffering from the effects of the war in Ukraine. Many thanks to those who carried out the brass cleaning in the week before Easter. The brass around the church is now looking spic and span. Margaret, who has done a splendid job organising the Barsham Love Boxes, is handing this role on to Chris and Carolyn Lambert, who have kindly agreed to take on the role and are well placed for it with their involvement respectively in Beccles Lions and the Red Hat ladies. We will be participating in the Love Box scheme again in 2023.Members of the congregation donated 248 items to the Foodbank in March, including chocolate Easter eggs. The Rev Pam Bayliss sent a lovely letter of appreciation. Sarah Jane’s heroic efforts to find new homes for Mike Learner’s legacy bears realised a further £114 in March, bringing the cumulative total to a remarkable £2,436.The Sunday collections for March amounted to £1,273. The fourth Sunday sales tableorganised by Chris Bardsley raised a magnificent £175, a sum largely enhanced by the sale of the beautiful Easter cards and tasty puddings she had so carefully made. Barsham Parochial Church Council very gratefully acknowledges recent donations of £50, £200 and £1,000.Many thanks to Maisebrooke Farm at Shipmeadow, whose Barsham Church collection box recently yielded over £15 in small change.FORWARD PLANNINGThe Service of Farewell and Thanksgiving for Archdeacon Jeanette will be at 3pm on Sunday 23 April at St Michael’s, Framlingham. Her successor, the Revd Canon Rich Henderson, will be collated and installed at St Edmundsbury Cathedral on the afternoon of 14th May. The APCM (Annual Parochial Church Meeting) is on Thursday 4th May in the church. Anyone can attend this meeting. The Rt Revd Dr Mike Harrison, Bishop of Dunwich, will be celebrating Eucharist with us at Barsham on Sunday 16th July.Tour, tea and Evensong at St Edmundsbury Cathedral, Sunday 10th September, 1.45pm – 5pm. Places can be booked through Bridget. SNIPPETS – The altar frontFor most of the year, the front of the altar is covered by one of a set of frontals, coloured to match the liturgical day or season. The exception to this is during Holy Week, when the altar is traditionally stripped on Maundy Thursday in preparation for Good Friday. At Barsham this reveals the handsome marquetry work on the wooden front panel, designed by Frederick Eden and made by Lawrence Turner. The panel is of walnut, inlaid with precious woods and ivory (photo on front cover). It was a gift in 1906 from the Anglo-Catholic congregation of St Alban the Martyr, Holborn in London, where the Vicar was the Rev R A J Suckling, a leading figure in the Anglo-Catholic Revival and former Rector of Barsham for 21 years from 1868 to1889, and Patron from1880 to 1917. I am sure with Good Friday in mind, Eden’s design incorporates a set of stylized emblems of the Passion: a crown of thorns (overlying the cross), three nails (converging on the centre of the cross), and scourges in each of the quadrants. The words ‘Glory’, Laud’, ‘Honour’ and ‘Power’ recall John Mason Neale’s Palm Sunday hymn ‘All Glory, Laud and Honour…’, celebrating Christ’s entry into Jerusalem. This was in fact a translation from Latin of the original words by Theodulf, a 9th century Bishop of Orleans, who may perhaps have been referencing Revelation, 4:11 – ‘Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things...’.Frederick Eden (1864-1944) was a church architect and designer of stained glass and church fittings, specializing in the decoration of Anglo-Catholic interiors. His practice was based in Holborn, London, where Suckling was Vicar of St Alban the Martyr. Repeatedly commissioned by Suckling, Eden was responsible for many of the treasures that make Barsham Church what it is today. His work was of national importance, and he was appointed curator of the ecclesiastical furnishings display at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley in 1924. The significance of his work is still recognised and valued: the library of the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Victoria and Albert Museum both hold a large number of his design drawings for stained glass windows and church fittings. The Oxford-based Lawrence Turner (1864-1957) was a celebrated architectural stonemason, sculptor, wood carver and plaster modeler (he executed the plaster ceiling in the chancel) who worked with the top architects of the day, including Frederick Eden. He carried out many prestigious commissions in churches as well as universities, schools, great houses, government buildings, war memorials and tombs. He was elected Master of the Art Workers Guild in 1922 and was a Fellow of the British Institute of Industrial Art.Like Eden and Suckling, the hymn-writer J M Neale (1818-1866) was another proponent of the Anglo-Catholic Revival and was one of the founders of the Cambridge Camden Society which argued for more ritual and religious decoration in churches: exactly the kind of work Suckling was commissioning from Eden, Turner and others.MAY DIARYSunday 30th April. Fourth Sunday of Easter. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Rev Josh Bailey.Sunday 7th May – Fifth Sunday of Easter. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Rev Jonathan Olanczuk.Sunday 14th May – Sixth Sunday of Easter. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Rev Jonathan Olanczuk.Thursday 18th May – Ascension Day. 7pm Holy Communion at All Saints, Mettingham. Rev Josh Bailey.Sunday 21st May – Seventh Sunday of Easter. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Rev Josh Bailey.Sunday 28th May – Pentecost. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Rev Josh Bailey.Sunday 28th May – Benefice Choral Evensong. 6.30pm at All Saints, Mettingham. Every Wednesday at 8.45am – Matins at Barsham. Church correspondent: Robert Bacon 07867 306016, robert.bacon@yahoo.co.uk
NEWSOn the first Sunday in March we were delighted to welcome for Choral Evensong the Canon Precentor Philip Banks and the Girls’ Choir of St Edmundsbury Cathedral, along with their supporters (cover photo by Chad Owen Cox: @o_c_portraits). A congregation of over 60 people filled the nave and the 13 girl choristers under Director of Music Timothy Parsons graced the service with stirring contemporary music. The setting for the canticles was composed in 2021 for the Choir of St Edmundsbury by Paul Trepte, a former Director of Music at St Edmundsbury and then Ely Cathedral. The setting for the anthem, the Prayer of St Richard of Chichester, was by the young composer LJ White, and the responses were sung to a beautiful setting by Malcolm Archer. St Edmundsbury is one of a growing number of Cathedrals now operating girls’ and boys’ choirs on an equal footing, dividing up the week between them and combining at Christmas, Easter and other special services. The girls’ choir is a recent innovation: formed just before the Covid pandemic arrived, it was able to get under way only once lockdowns were lifted. A cheerful band of 22 people from church filled two long tables at the village hall for the annual Barsham Big Breakfast on Saturday 11th March. Very many thanks to the village hall team for providing such a magnificent breakfast feast, and thanks to all for excellent company. On Mothering Sunday Revd Josh blessed a beautiful array of primulas, which were then distributed to every member of the congregation. The sun didn’t break through for the ‘Equinox Event’ on the first two evenings, though we welcomed for a talk and church tour seven visitors on the first day and nine on the second, including one from Bury St Edmund’s and another who came by train from Surbiton. The sun did appear on the third evening however, and we had a glorious display, seen by 27 delighted onlookers.If you would like to donate to the Easter Lilies fund, there will be a collection box at the back of the church every Sunday until Easter. Money not used for the purchase of lilies will be sent to the Tear Fund, a Christian charity helping victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, and war in Ukraine. The PCC met for routine business on 16th March. Very many thanks for the 214 items that were donated to the Foodbank in February. Amy tells us that toiletries as well as foods are important now. Sunday Collections in February amounted to £1,181.00. The January sales tableorganised by Sarah Jane raised a very creditable £100.00. FORWARD PLANNINGThe Service of Farewell and Thanksgiving for Archdeacon Jeanette will be at 3pm on Sunday 23 April at St Michael’s, Framlingham. Her successor, the Revd Canon Rich Henderson, will be collated and installed at St Edmundsbury Cathedral on the afternoon of 14th May. The next Benefice service of Choral Evensong will be held at All Saints, Mettingham at 6.30pm on Sunday 30th April. The APCM (Annual Parochial Church Meeting) is to be held on Thursday 4th May. Anyone can attend this meeting. Tour, tea and Evensong at St Edmundsbury Cathedral, Sunday 10th September, 1.45pm – 5pm. There are still some places left on this group visit and these can be booked through Bridget. AN EASTER MESSAGE FROM THE REVD JOSH BAILEYWhy I love Easter"Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, thus also we ourselves might walk in new life." Romans 6:4Beautiful and broken. The stubborn fact of our existence. Our bodies don't keep. Work is frustrating as often as fulfilling. Relationships can be heavenly and hellish. Even the greatest joys we experience are tinged with sadness.Jesus enters into ALL of it. But even in his weak, decaying existence from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, He gives us whispers of another world. His connection with the creation as a sinless, blessed human is the stuff of our dreams. When he speaks to the wind, it listens. When he wants food for people, the creation delivers it up at his request. When he's stuck on the wrong side of a lake, he just walks to where he wants to go. When confronted with decades long human dysfunction, He calmly tells it to get lost: and it's gone. Cells restructured. Minds made whole. Souls at peace; given joy where there was only darkness. And it’s all pointing to the defeat of the shadow that hangs over us - the spectre of meaninglessness cast over everything by death; the removal of the curse that has dogged the very ground we walk on.When Easter finally comes after that long Saturday, all our assumptions about ourexistence can be torn up and thrown away. There's no more shrugging at suffering! The life that Jesus reveals in his physical, immortal body is unlike anything the universe has ever known before. A life made perfect BY death; rather than the half-life we know, always on the verge of being swallowed up by death. Almost anything wonderful that we can imagine can happen now. And one day it will. Because His tomb is empty.The life we rejoice in at Easter is our life. New. Immortal. Full of possibility. Giving suffering a purpose. Giving hope to anyone who knows they need it. Totally real!I love Easter because I love the new life of Jesus. When despair lurks, Jesus declares a different future. If Christ has been raised from the dead - AND HE HAS - my wildest hopes and longings are only the warm-up act for all the new creation will bring. And the chocolate's nice too.APRIL DIARYSunday 2nd April – Palm Sunday. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Rev Jonathan Olanczuk.Thursday 6th April. Maundy Thursday. 7.30pm Holy Communion with foot-washing. Holy Trinity, Bungay. Rev Josh Bailey.Friday 7th April. Good Friday. 12 noon Meditation at All Saints, Mettingham & 2pm Meditation, Holy Trinity, Barsham with Shipmeadow. Rev Josh Bailey.Sunday 9th April. Easter Sunday. 6.30am Sunrise Service at Outney Common, Bungay. 11am Sung Eucharist at Barsham (BCP). Both services Rev Josh Bailey.Sunday 16th April. Second Sunday of Easter. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Rev Josh Bailey.Sunday 23rd April. Third Sunday of Easter. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Rev Jonathan Olanczuk.Sunday 30th April. Fourth Sunday of Easter. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Rev Josh Bailey.Every Wednesday at 8.45am – Matins at Barsham. Church correspondent: Robert Bacon 07867 306016, robert.bacon@yahoo.co.uk
NEWSWeekly Matins has now resumed at 8.45am on Wednesdays, except there will be no service on 29th February and 26th April. We are extremely grateful to our three organists, Kevin Turner, David Bunkell and Murray Walding, who have so generously stepped in following the sad loss of Bob. The skill of their playing adds much beauty to our services. Three tables of diners from across the Benefice enjoyed a fine spread of delicious foods at the Benefice bring-and-share lunch at Barsham Village Hall on the last Sunday of January. Many thanks to those who supported the event.We congratulate The Revd Canon Rich Henderson, Rural Dean of Waveney and Blyth, and Rector of Beccles with Worlingham, North Cove and Barnby, on being appointed the next Archdeacon of Suffolk. There will be a Service of Farewell and thanksgiving for Archdeacon Jeanette at 3pm on Sunday 23 April at St Michael’s, Framlingham. A splendid 262 items were donated to the Foodbank in January. It can’t be said too often that our contributions are hugely appreciated. The January sales table organised by Margaret raised £75.00. In the calendar year 2022 the sales table made a magnificent total of £1,350.00.Barsham with Shipmeadow very gratefully acknowledges a donation of £250.00.FORWARD PLANNINGThe Choir of St Edmundsbury Cathedral will sing Choral Evensong at Barsham at 3.30pm on Sunday 5th March. Do bring friends! The Barsham Big Breakfast will take place on Saturday 11th March at 9.30am in the Barsham and Shipmeadow Village Hall. By all means attend on an individual basis (seats can be booked by emailing bsvh.info@gmail.com) or contact Bridget to join the church table, which will meet at the village hall at 10am. The cooked breakfast menu includes locally sourced meat as well as vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. With lengthening daylight hours and carpets of spring flowers breaking through (front cover: Barsham snowdrops), the Spring Equinox is just around the corner, falling on Monday 20th March. Assuming the sun shines, the ‘Equinox Event’ in the church may be seen on 19th, 20th and 21st March. Refreshments will be served from 4.45pm on all three days and the shaft of sunlight should begin to strike the rood at approximately 5.15pm.The next Benefice service of Choral Evensong will be held at All Saints, Mettingham at 6.30pm on Sunday 30th April. SNIPPETS – Oak Tree PlantingColin and Malcolm planted three oak saplings on the northern boundary of the churchyard on the first day of February. They were a gift from Bishop Martin Seeley, who has offered saplings to all the parishes of the St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Diocese. Originally planned as a part of the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee, and as a fitting response to the climate crisis, Bishop Martin now wishes the trees to serve also as a memorial to our longest-serving monarch – and this is how we should see our three ‘Elizabeth Oaks’ at Barsham. In fact, most of Bishop Martin’s saplings were hornbeams, grown from seeds he collected in Christchurch Park, Ipswich, but he was also given 60 oak saplings, and our trees come from this latter source. The oak seems particularly appropriate in this context since in history and legend, oak trees have long symbolised royalty, patriotism and strength.It is pertinent too that our three oaks will make a valuable contribution to biodiversity in the long term. The Woodland Trust website provides extensive detail: the oak supports more life than any other native species: ‘a haven for a colossal 2,300 wildlife species, providing vital spaces to eat, shelter and breed’. Of these, 326 species depend on the oak for their very survival and 229 species inhabit the oak almost exclusively. Every bit of the tree has value, from the top of the canopy to the tip of the roots. Oak flowers are eaten by squirrels and many insects, and the pollen is a popular food source for bees. Acorns are attractive to 31 different woodland mammals as well as some birds. Oak leaves provide food for caterpillars and aphids, the latter producing the sugary honeydew that wood ants feast on, and these invertebrates attract species from higher up the food chain, including birds – the oak supports 38 species of bird. Oak bark provides niches for wildlife to shelter, feed and breed, including a range of invertebrates, bats and birds. Meanwhile, at the base of the trunk, fungi feed on the wood, and oak hosts 716 types of lichen, which offer nesting material, food and shelter. Liverworts and mosses cling to bark and branches, and various fungi rely on oak, some support the root systems and others depend on decaying organic matter in the leaf mould and fallen deadwood. Of course, dead and decaying trees are a vital part of a wood’s biodiversity, providing habitat and nourishment for a vast array of species.March Diary & Holy WeekWednesday 22nd February – Ash Wednesday. 10am Holy Communion, Holy Trinity, Bungay & 7pm Holy Communion, All Saints, Mettingham. Both services Rev Josh Bailey. Sunday 26th February – First Sunday of Lent. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Rev Josh Bailey.Sunday 5th March – Second Sunday of Lent. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Rev Jonathan Olanczuk.Sunday 5th March – 3.30pm Choral Evensong with the Cathedral Choir. Rev Josh Bailey.Sunday 12th March – Third Sunday of Lent. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Rev Jonathan Olanczuk.Sunday 19th March – Mothering Sunday. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Rev Josh Bailey.Sunday 26th March – Passion Sunday. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Rev Josh Bailey.Sunday 2nd April – Palm Sunday. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Rev Jonathan Olanczuk.Thursday 6th April. Maundy Thursday. 7.30pm Holy Communion with foot-washing. Holy Trinity, Bungay. Rev Josh Bailey.Friday 7th April. Good Friday. 12 noon Meditation at All Saints, Mettingham & 2pm Meditation, Holy Trinity, Barsham with Shipmeadow. Rev Josh Bailey.Sunday 9th April. Easter Sunday. 6.30am Sunrise Service at Outney Common. 11am Sung Eucharist at Barsham (BCP). Both services Rev Josh Bailey.Every Wednesday at 8.45am – Matins at Barsham. Church correspondent: Robert Bacon 07867 306016, robert.bacon@yahoo.co.uk
NEWSThe four Candles of Advent were lit on successive Sundays leading up to Christmas, each candle representing a different aspect of the Advent season – the Prophesy Candle symbolising hope, the Bethlehem Candle peace, the Shepherd’s Candle joy, and the Angel Candle love. Finally, the Christ Candle was lit on Christmas morning, celebrating the arrival of Christ. The Festival of Seven Lessons and Nine Carols on the evening of 18th December was attended by a congregation of 62 people. Lit only by the 18 flickering candles of the great brass candelabra in the nave, Cheryl’s solo first verse of Once in Royal set the tone for an atmospheric service. It was uplifting to hear again the familiar words of the readings, and the choir’s sparkling descants soared majestically above the enthusiastic singing of the congregation. Further treats followed in the form of mince pies and mulled wine, sausage rolls and spiced apple juice, and the drawing of the Christmas raffle, which raised a splendid £250. Very many thanks to those who contributed to the Christmas hampers for the raffle, to Jean Cooksley for the splendid Christmas cake, and to those who decorated the church so beautifully with flowers and candles. The setting up of the crib heightened expectation of Christmas and you may have noticed in church over the Christmas period the figurines of the three wise men making their journey towards the crib, one windowsill at a time from the window beside the main door to the crib, arriving there at Epiphany – the Feast of the Three Wise Men – on 6th January. This celebrates the visit of the Magi to the new-born Jesus, having been led by the star to Bethlehem (picture, front cover).We were delighted to welcome as our visiting preacher on Sunday 1st January, the Archdeacon of Suffolk, the Ven Jeanette Gosney. On Sunday 29th January morning sung Eucharist will be followed by a Benefice bring-and-share lunch in Barsham Village Hall at 1pm, for those who wish to attend. Please contact Josh to let him know what food you can bring so that some coordination can be managed. A Benefice Evensong service will follow at Barsham at 5.30pm.Wednesday Matins will resume on a weekly basis at 8.45am from 1st February. 152 items were donated to the Foodbank in December, bringing our total contribution for the year to 2,352 donations – a tremendous outcome, much valued by the Waveney Foodbank and its beneficiaries. FORWARD PLANNINGThe Spring Equinox falls on Monday 20th March and, assuming bright and sunny weather, the ‘Equinox Event’ in the church may be seen late afternoon on that day and on one day either side. Refreshments are served beforehand. The Choir of St Edmundsbury Cathedral will sing Choral Evensong at Barsham at 3.30pm on Sunday 5th March.SNIPPETS – The Visitors Book 2022Holy Trinity Barsham receives several hundred occasional visitors each year. Only a relatively small proportion, I suspect, stop to sign the visitors book, but a survey of entries for 2022 sheds some light on the purpose of their visits and how far they have travelled. There are 83 separate entries in the visitors book for the year 2022, representing 131 named people. Overseas visitors included people from Germany, Canada, Australia and four states of the USA – Iowa, Maryland, Virginia and California. Unsurprisingly, the majority of UK visitors – 63% – came from the Eastern counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire. Indeed, a quarter of visitors came from Beccles, Lowestoft, Norwich and nearby rural parishes. But London and 15 other English counties are also represented, being Kent, Surrey, East and West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire in the south; Rutland, Lincolnshire and Warwickshire in the Midlands; Somerset, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire further west; and in the north Manchester, Cheshire and Lancashire. Our furthest UK visitors came from Shetland.Some occasional visitors, of course, are drawn here for Sunday service or for weddings, funerals and memorial services; and others are attracted by special events such as the Lindley Light Show, the Equinox events or Ride and Stride; while some come with study groups, perhaps with the U3A or the Round Tower Churches Society. There are those too who come to remember: a pilgrimage to an old familiar place, or to pay their respects at a family grave. A good proportion of visitors come out of interest in the history of the building, or for its beauty. With good reason, Holy Trinity Barsham is written up enthusiastically in most gazetteers of Suffolk churches. One of the visitors this year was Simon Knott, whose well-known website Churches of East Anglia includes an account of our church.Some visitors come on ancestral pilgrimage. A party of 18 came from North America, all of them descended from Elizabeth Blennerhassett (c1537-c1608) of Barsham Hall and her husband Sir Lionel Throckmorton (1525-1599), who married at Holy Trinity Barsham in June 1561. Two other entries, unrelated, recorded in the visitors book their Suckling kinship.A pilgrim of a different kind signed the book in June. Our first visitor on the Church Walking Pilgrimages scheme took overnight sanctuary in the church and came to Matins the following morning. She was walking the first section of the Via Beata pilgrimage route from Lowestoft to St Davids in Pembrokeshire. Amongst the brief comments most frequently committed to the visitors book are expressions of thanks for being open (a legacy of Covid lockdowns perhaps) and remarks about the beauty and peacefulness of the church – a reminder, if any were needed – of how fortunate we are in our special surroundings. FEBRUARY DIARYSunday 29th January – Candlemas (Presentation of Christ in the Temple). 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Rev Jonathan Olanczuk.Sunday 29th January – 5.30pm Benefice Evensong at Barsham. Rev Josh Bailey.Sunday 5th February – Third Sunday before Lent. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). RevJonathan Olanczuk.Sunday 12th February – Second Sunday before Lent. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Rev Canon John Fellows.Sunday 19th February – Sunday before Lent. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Rev Josh Bailey.Wednesday 22nd February – Ash Wednesday. 10am Holy Communion, Holy Trinity, Bungay. Rev Josh Bailey. 7pm Holy Communion, All Saints, Mettingham. Rev Josh Bailey. Sunday 26th February – First Sunday of Lent. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Rev Josh Bailey.Every Wednesday at 8.45am – Matins at Barsham. Church correspondent: Robert Bacon 07867 306016, robert.bacon@yahoo.co.uk
