THE P RTAL
August 2018 Page 7
“ It ’ s not Chartres Cathedral , it ’ s not even St Barnabas Tunbridge Wells ….”
Jackie Ottaway and Ronald Crane have been in Kent
We well remember our first visit to St Anselm ’ s , Pembury when the Ordinariate first got going .
What passed for a church was in fact a “ play school ”. All the equipment required for the children attending the play school needed to be stowed away . The altar , chairs and so on required for church had to be brought in . It was a time consuming work that needed to be done each and every Sunday .
The building was in reality , a brick box of the kind found in almost every village in the land . Such buildings are used as the Village or Church hall .
Gradually things changed . The church became more permanent without pushing the play school out . The really big breakthrough came with the building of a proper church hall on the front of the building and the creation of a new church entrance with porch at the side . This allowed the play school to use the hall , and the church to be just that , the church .
Of course a space does not a church make . Over time pews were acquired , along with clergy stalls , a reredos , altar rails and kneelers and a lectern and pulpit . Now the building looks and feels like a proper church . Well , not “ looks like ” because it is a proper church . Choir and organ , together with two beautiful chapels , one in honour of Our Lady , the other of the Sacred Heart . They are both stunningly beautiful , as indeed is the whole church . There are , we understand , more plans for the future , but they will have to wait for another day and another celebration .
We arrived for the Sunday Solemn Evensong to bless the new “ East End ” window . It is a stained glass depiction of Our Blessed Lord walking upon the water , with St Peter before him . The story is a familiar one . Peter joins his Lord and walks upon the water , until he gets frightened and doubts . At that point he begins to sink , until Our Lord saves him .
The celebration was also a “ Thank you ” to many people who have helped made the transformation from church hall to church possible . The small church was packed for the occasion . Not only were members of the congregation of St Anselm ’ s present , but also representatives of the Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Window Stainers with people from the local building firm of S . Smith and Sons . The Worshipful Company of Glaziers , through the work of their repository , had provided the window . It had been in