Saint Edmund, Downham Market, Norfolk

 Who and What We Are

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Who and What We Are

Back in 1833, The Rev'd John Keble preached the 'Assize Sermon' before the judges at the University Church of S. Mary Oxford. His message was simple, that the Church of England really is the expression of One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church in England, as proclaimed in the Creeds (ancient statements of faith) each week.

Thus began the religious revival known as the Oxford Movement or Anglo-Catholicism.

S. Edmund's still proclaims catholic faith and order within the Church of England.
The Anglo-Catholic tradition has long held the Incarnation --the birth of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, as a man-- as a defining ordinance. Human life and the human condition matter, because God has chosen to share that life and condition. Or as Canon Henry Scott-Holland once put it, “I care about drains because God became man”.

Our worship at S. Edmund’s has been described as 'formal with a light touch', it is full of joy, and laughter has a place too!  Those who worship here seek the holy in their lives, rejoicing in the presence of the God of the everyday, who shared our human life. Our catholic faith draws us both into the mystery of God and into the best use of human life.
S. Edmund's is the parish Church of Downham Market and Barroway Drove. We are a neighberhood church designed for the neighbourhood, our vision is local and based in bringing holiness to the lives of those who live around us. We have a growing congregation across a range of ages and from different backgrounds. What we have in common is a desire to live out our Christian discipleship according to the catholic pattern of life we have received.
To this end, the Mass (also known as The Eucharist and Holy Communion Service), the service Jesus himself gave us at the Last Supper, is the centre of our common life and worship.
As a traditional Anglo-Catholic parish, we have excllent relationships with the Diocese of Ely, and have a particular Bishop assigned to us to offer Episcopal care, the Bishop of Richborough, The Right Reverend Norman Banks.  So as well as our local Deanery and Diocese, we take part in the thriving See of Richborough, working alongside other parishes of the Society of S. Wilfrid & S. Hilda.