On Sunday 17 November at 3.30 pm, a special service took place at St Edmundsbury Cathedral, Bury St Edmunds, to honour five men and women for their contributions to the life of the Cathedral, the Diocese and the wider community in Suffolk.

On the Feast of St Edmund, St Edmundsbury Cathedral recognises those who have demonstrated ‘exemplary and unusual service to the Cathedral’ by bestowing the prestigious Order of St Edmund – the highest honour the Cathedral gives. This year’s recipient was His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Suffolk, Clare, Countess of Euston.

Lady Clare Euston is honoured in 2024 for her outstanding contribution to the life of the Cathedral and Diocese, as a tribute to her many years of service, friendship, and invaluable guidance. Membership of the Order of St Edmund is limited to 20 individuals and awarded at the discretion of the Bishop, the Right Reverend Martin Seeley and the Dean of St Edmundsbury, the Very Reverend Joe Hawes. Lady Clare becomes the 20^th recipient of this award, and it is the final one given by Bishop Martin before his upcoming retirement in February.

The Right Reverend, Martin Seeley, Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, said, “I am honoured to admit Lady Clare to the Order of St Edmund.  She is a most remarkable Lord Lieutenant for our beloved county, and in my ten years serving here, she has been for me a wise counsellor and trusted friend. This will also be my last opportunity to create new honorary and lay canons, and am thrilled to do so for Chris, Alison, Robert and Graham, who between them embody the best of the Church in Suffolk.”

Additionally at this service, the Cathedral bestows the title of ‘Canon’, given to individuals, both clergy and lay, who have given particular service to the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. The new canons will join the Cathedral’s College of Canons. The role of the College of Canons is to act independently to the Cathedral governing bodies and be a forum for reflection, advice and advocacy across the diocese and county. Modelling both the current context and what we aspire to become, the canons represent the breadth of Suffolk life. This year, the Cathedral will install three Honorary Canons, The Reverend Chris Davey, The Reverend Robert Otule and The Reverend Alison Alder, and one Lay Canon, Graham Mothersole.

Also installed at the service was the Cathedral’s new Visiting Canon Theologian, The Revd Dr Victoria Johnson. Dr Johnson is a previous Canon Precentor of York Minster, overseeing the musical and worshipping life there. Prior to this she was a Residentiary Canon at Ely Cathedral, and a priest in the Diocese of Manchester, having been ordained there in 2007. She read theology and religious studies at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and studied at the Institute of Sacred Music and Divinity School in Yale, USA. Prior to ordination, Victoria worked as a Post-Doctoral Cancer Research Scientist at Manchester University after gaining a BSc and PhD in Biochemistry from Leicester University. She is currently, and will remain, a member of the Divinity Faculty of the University of Cambridge and specialises in homiletics and liturgy; mission theology and apologetics; science and religion; music and the arts. Her first book On voice: speech, song and silence, human and divine; has recently been published.

The Very Reverend Joe Hawes, Dean of St Edmundsbury says, “The College of Canons, Order of St Edmund and our Canon Theologian play an integral part in our cathedral life and without faithful and thoughtful people like these, we would not serve the community of Suffolk as broadly or thoroughly.”