Peter Wiseman
This week we stay in the Sanctuary and focus on The Lord’s Table, the Altar, as it is the central and most familiar feature of any church. In 1952, when this church was opened, there were two: The High Altar, pictured here (gifted by Dr George Gaynor MC), and the heritage wooden altar (carved by Cecil Cross ca.1929) which was then located in the Lady Chapel (now the FEPOW chapel). The latter was transferred from the earlier ‘Stable Church’ behind the Presbytery and is now displayed in its conserved form in the Narthex
The altar you see is made from Portland stone and was much longer then, as it had to accommodate 6 brass candlesticks, 3 either side of the gilded Tabernacle. It was also positioned close to the Reredos. Vatican II directives resulted in the repositioning of the altar in the early 1970s. On the front panel is an engraved stylised Cross, circumscribed by the Crown of Thorns symbolising, in its simplicity, the Passion of Our Lord. However, the altar was not consecrated until 2001! This was, in part, due to our original status as a ‘Poor Mission’ and an outstanding debt in the early days. At that time Canon Law did not allow Consecration to take place unless the church was debt free. Consequently, the new building could only be officially opened and Blessed. A succession of other factors contributed to an ongoing oversight; hence the delay. Finally, on 27th October 2001, the ceremony of Divine Consecration was celebrated by Bishop Peter Smith, 3rd Bishop of East Anglia, and completed when he sealed the relics of 3 saints into the Altar : St Thomas of Canterbury, St. Gregory and St Maximillian Kolbe.