Holy Innocents Church, Great Barton

Holy Innocents Church, Great Barton Parish Church of Great Barton. Church of England. A Eucharistic community of joyful, inclusive, prayer and sacrament

The Church of the Holy Innocents is the Church of England Parish Church for Great Barton in the County of Suffolk. We are a living, fully inclusive church where all are welcomed with joy; young and old alike, deep faith or none, differently abled, LGBT+, neuro-diverse, happy or sad, rich or poor, full of beans or worn out, single, married, living together, loved up or heartbroken, celebrating or g

rieving - ALL are welcomed, accepted and embraced here. Being a member of a church family is not just about Sundays - church family membership extends to ALL in our, Together Family Church and more to come! Contact us for baptisms, weddings and funerals - we are here to serve you in all life's joys and sorrows. Should you need to contact us, please message us on Facebook, email or ring us. Vicar of Holy Innocents, Great Barton:

Fr Benjamin Edwards - [email protected]

Churchwarden: Tim Frost Tel 01284 787442
Church contact: Peter Robinson 07814 946841

Thinking of joining us for Communion but feeling unsure?😕"I'm not religious, baptised, or confirmed..."😕That is absolute...
04/06/2026

Thinking of joining us for Communion but feeling unsure?

😕"I'm not religious, baptised, or confirmed..."😕

That is absolutely okay. God’s table has no barriers, and it belongs to everyone.

😕"I'm worried I'm not good enough..."😕

You are enough. God sees through all our imperfections straight to your true self—a deeply loved child who deserves to be here.

😕"I don't know what to do or say..."😕

Don't worry at all, we've got you. Just follow the person ahead of you, or simply hold out your hands. You can't get it wrong.

😕"I'm just a bit anxious about stepping inside..."😕

We are here to meet you exactly where you are, with a warm welcome and zero judgement.

Holy Communion is a gift of ultimate belonging. Come as you are—you are expected, you are valued, and you are welcome. 🙏♥️🙏♥️

For many across our nation, June marks the beginning of Pride month—a time when LGBT+ communities come together to celeb...
01/06/2026

For many across our nation, June marks the beginning of Pride month—a time when LGBT+ communities come together to celebrate the beautiful diversity of love, identity, and expression.

​At St Peter's and Holy Innocents, we have long sought to extend God's love to everyone made in God's image, celebrating the fullness of who you are.

​Saying so matters. We know that at this time of year, many corporate spaces fly the flag for their own reasons. But our invitation is deeply personal. To everyone in the LGBT+ community, your families, and your friends: we invite you to come and explore your faith with us at Holy Innocents and St Peter's. We are ready to welcome you exactly as you are.

​Happy Pride everyone!

Standing in Solidarity and Prayer​While civic symbols may change on local council flagpoles, our commitment to prayer, s...
28/05/2026

Standing in Solidarity and Prayer

​While civic symbols may change on local council flagpoles, our commitment to prayer, sanctuary, and solidarity remains steadfast.

​At Holy Innocents, the Ukrainian flag continues to hold its place of honour in our Lady Chapel. For us, this is not a matter of fleeting political trends, but a deep spiritual duty. We committed to praying for our Ukrainian brothers and sisters, and that commitment remains.

​As we look upon it, we are called to pray continually for all those enduring the horrors of conflict—most especially the children whose lives, innocence, and futures are torn apart by violence. In our prayers, we remember them as the Modern Holy Innocents, holding them before God’s infinite grace and mercy.

​Our doors and our hearts remain open to all. We will continue to pray for peace, justice, and the protection of the vulnerable, standing with our Ukrainian siblings today and every day.

Стоячи у солідарності та молитві
Хоча громадянські символи на флагштоках місцевих рад можуть змінюватися, наша відданість молитві, притулку та солідарності залишається непохитною.

У храмі Святих Невинних Немовлят (Holy Innocents) український прапор продовжує займати своє почесне місце у приділі Діви Марії (Lady Chapel). Для нас це не питання скороминущих політичних тенденцій, а глибокий духовний обов'язок. Ми взяли на себе зобов'язання молитися за наших українських братів і сестер, і це зобов'язання залишається незмінним.

Дивлячись на нього, ми покликані постійно молитися за всіх, хто переживає жахи конфлікту — особливо за дітей, чиї життя, невинність і майбутнє нівечаться насильством. У наших молитвах ми згадуємо їх як Сучасних Святих Невинних Немовлят, віддаючи їх під безмежну милість і благодать Бога.

Наші двері та наші серця залишаються відкритими для всіх. Ми продовжуватимемо молитися за мир, справедливість і захист уразливих, стоячи пліч-о-пліч з нашими українськими братами та сестрами сьогодні й кожного дня.

​

What if the ultimate truth of the universe isn't something you're supposed to sit back and watch, but something you're r...
24/05/2026

What if the ultimate truth of the universe isn't something you're supposed to sit back and watch, but something you're required to make?

Pentecost gets packaged as this wild, spectacular event—all rushing wind, tongues of fire, and ecstatic elation. We treat it like a cosmic adrenaline shot designed to blast us out of our ordinary lives into a supernatural trance. But that kind of faith implies God only shows up under highly managed, exceptional circumstances. It leaves you waiting for a lightning bolt, or wondering why the person in the next pew feels the power of the divine while you feel absolutely nothing.

The real significance of Pentecost is far more radical, and a bit more terrifying. It’s opening night.

Think of it like a theatre company. The Director has spent months on stage, holding the script, prompting lines, showing the cast how to live and love the script. But on opening night, the Director walks out of the building. (This actually happened to me in my acting days!)

Now, the actors can freeze in panic, or they can step out of the wings, take ownership of the script, and speak the lines into the room themselves.

The Holy Spirit isn't a distant object to chase, or an emotional high to capture. It’s the moment the training wheels are smashed. It is the divine presence moving from something beside us to an internal power within us.

If you’re seeking faith, or just wondering where meaning sits in a world dominated by impersonal and cynical systems, Pentecost is an invitation to stop looking up and away. Look right into the local, chaotic reality of your actual life.

Whenever a community alters its rhythm so neurodiverse minds can flourish; whenever someone stands up for a village against developers with £ signs for eyes; whenever someone refuses to accept that "it is what it is" and chooses instead to act with radical, self-giving love—that is where God is encountered. Not in the clouds, but in the work of love itself.

The curtain is up. The script is written on your heart. How will you help shape how the world is today?

At Holy Innocents and St Peter's, we are led by the Spirit towards that work of love - will you be part of it? We are waiting to welcome you 🙏♥️🙏

Safe Church, Safe Communities 💛​Every person who steps through our doors deserves to feel safe, valued, and respected. A...
20/05/2026

Safe Church, Safe Communities 💛

​Every person who steps through our doors deserves to feel safe, valued, and respected. Across our Benefice, safeguarding is not just a policy or a legal requirement—it is a core part of our faith and our care for one another.

​Whether you are a lifelong regular, a newcomer, or visiting us for a community event, we want you to know that the safety and well-being of all children, young people, and vulnerable adults is our absolute priority.

​What this means in practice:

​Trained Leadership: All our clergy, churchwardens, and volunteers undergo regular, comprehensive safeguarding training.

​Safer Recruitment: Every individual working with vulnerable groups is fully vetted and DBS checked.

​Clear Reporting: We have designated Safeguarding Officers across our parishes and clear, accessible procedures for raising any concerns quickly and confidentially.

​📞 Need to get in touch?
​If you ever have a concern, need support, or want to view our safeguarding policies, you can find full details on our church noticeboards and website. Alternatively, please message us directly here to be connected with our parish safeguarding team.

​Thank you for helping us keep our churches spaces of peace, grace, and safety for everyone.

​

Today marks IDAHOBIT (the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia).​As a Benefice, this day offer...
17/05/2026

Today marks IDAHOBIT (the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia).

​As a Benefice, this day offers us an opportunity to pause and reaffirm a core truth of our faith: that every single person is made in the image of God, wonderfully fashioned, and held in absolute love.

​Christ’s command to love one another leaves no room for exclusion. Yet, we recognise that the world—and historically, the church—has not always been a place of safety or welcome for LGBTQ+ individuals.

Today, we acknowledge that pain and recommit ourselves to being a community of grace, where fear is cast out and everyone is free to flourish exactly as God created them.
​Wherever you are on your journey, and whomever you love, please know that you are welcome here just as you are.

​A Prayer for Today:

Loving God, you created humanity in beautiful diversity. We pray today for a world where all your children can live authentically, safely, and without fear. Strengthen us to be builders of a community rooted in your boundless grace and justice. Amen.

​

Prayer.How do you do it? At the risk of sounding all mystical and that, prayer seems to be something that happens *to* u...
15/05/2026

Prayer.

How do you do it? At the risk of sounding all mystical and that, prayer seems to be something that happens *to* us rather than something we actively do by special 'spiritual techniques'.

There is the view that prayer is asking for something, for help, for guidance, for other people. This is part of it, for sure. And it is as simple as thinking or saying these things to God.

But prayer is also about being still and silent, removing ourselves as much as possible from everything else...and waiting for God to speak into the space we make for Her/Him (either is fine!).

Our thoughts will seemingly attempt to jump in front of this space. I visualise a river, and as the random thoughts of my life and the world intrude, I pick them up, look at them and acknowledge them, assure them I will come back to them, and I place them in a boat on the river, and let them drift away. Patience and persistence will allow the mind to clear.

And what can you expect? My experiences have ranged from a deep sense of peace, of being 'seen', of insights into myself or perhaps a situation, feeling guided in various aspects of my life, and sometimes realisations that I've not behaved in the best way.

But always, when I have truly entered into times of stillness and silence before God, there is a sense of being held and cherished and loved. It is always a quality of time rather than a quantity, a hint of a different way of 'being'. It transforms, bit by bit, as slowly more of the truth of ourselves is revealed.

Patience, stillness, laying aside one's ego, silence. And when we open space for God, His/Her grace will replenish, renew and transform.

-Fr Ben

As the season turns towards Pentecost, the Flight of Kites installation at Holy Innocents will soon be coming to a close...
14/05/2026

As the season turns towards Pentecost, the Flight of Kites installation at Holy Innocents will soon be coming to a close. These kites have served as a moving tribute to the lives of children affected by conflict—the modern Holy Innocents of our world today.

While the kites may be descending, our commitment to these young lives remains steadfast. We are pleased to announce that Holy Innocents Church will be dedicated as a permanent space for prayer and reflection for all modern Holy Innocents.

Starting this Sunday, 24 May, new prayer cards will be available within the church for anyone wishing to offer a personal prayer or a moment of silence for children in need of peace and protection.

When: From Sunday 24 May

Where: Holy Innocents Church

Support: Donations are warmly welcomed to help sustain the church’s work and this ongoing mission of prayer. We have also been raising money to donate to War Child, the charity we partnered with as part of the installation - a further collection will be taken at the Pentecost service to support their vital work.

Please join us as we transition from this visual display into a season of dedicated intercession. Everyone is welcome to come, sit, and pray.

Happy Ascension Day!In the Christian tradition, the Ascension marks the moment, forty days after Easter, when Jesus is s...
14/05/2026

Happy Ascension Day!

In the Christian tradition, the Ascension marks the moment, forty days after Easter, when Jesus is said to have departed from earth and entered heaven. Rather than just being a "goodbye", it represents a major shift in how his followers understood God's presence—moving from a single person they could walk with to a universal spirit that lives within people and communities.

We often treat the Ascension as a physical exit, but the original Greek suggests a transformation of how we find God. When the text mentions a 'nephelē' —the word for cloud—it isn't describing a weather event. In the Bible, a cloud is a sign of God's direct presence.

Jesus isn't going away to a far-off place; he is being folded into the life of God so that he can be present everywhere at once.

This is when the training wheels come off. By leaving, Jesus refuses to be an idol we can simply follow and instead becomes a reality we have to inhabit.

When the angels asked why the disciples stood there 'atenizontes', or staring with a fixed and paralysed gaze, it was a call to stop looking up and start looking at the world.

The Ascension shows that God trusts us. God steps back and gives us the Holy Spirit, turning us from spectators into the very body of Christ on the ground. We move from watching the grace of God in Jesus Christ to being that grace in our communities.

This moment isn't the end of the story; it’s the end of our excuses. As we move toward Pentecost, we stop staring at the clouds and start looking at our neighbours, realising that the Spirit is already at work in the beautiful but earthy reality of the here and now.

Julian of Norwich celebrated today -​The Quiet Radicalism of Hope​We often mistake hope for a sunny disposition or a ref...
08/05/2026

Julian of Norwich celebrated today -​The Quiet Radicalism of Hope

​We often mistake hope for a sunny disposition or a refusal to look at the headlines. But if you look at Julian of Norwich, you see a woman who found hope while literally walled into a room, living through the devastation of the Black Death.

​When she wrote her famous lines—"All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well"—it wasn't a platitude. It was a hard-won realisation birthed from a series of intense visions. It’s a promise that doesn't ignore the darkness of our times, but rather insists that God is woven into the very fabric of our struggle.

​Why Julian Matters Now:

​God is Kind: Julian saw God not as a distant judge, but as a nurturing, even mothering, presence. In a world that feels increasingly harsh, that tenderness is a radical thing to claim.

​The Hazelnut Lesson: She looked at a tiny hazelnut and realised it exists because God loves it. If the smallest thing is held in that love, then so are we—despite the chaos.

​Persistent Peace: "All shall be well" is a defiant statement. It’s an invitation to trust that the end of the story is grace, even when the middle of the chapter feels like a mess.

​Let’s be honest: things feel heavy right now. But being a person of faith doesn't mean we have all the answers; it means we trust the One who holds the questions.

Today, may you find a moment of stillness to remember that you are held, you are known, and in the deep mystery of God’s heart, all truly shall be well.

​

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Bury St. Edmunds
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