On Sunday 16 November, a special service took place at St Edmundsbury Cathedral, Bury St Edmunds, to honour those who have significantly enriched 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 lay and honourary canon titles, plus the prestigious Order of St Edmund – the highest honour the Cathedral gives.

This year, broadcaster Zeb Soanes was made a Lay Canon. Zeb is the presenter of Relaxing Evenings on Classic FM, the UK’s most popular classical music station. His nightly show from 7.00 pm – 10.00 pm regularly attracts 1.3 million listeners each week. For over 20 years Zeb was an authoritative newsreader and reassuring voice of the Shipping Forecast to millions of listeners on BBC Radio 4. He announced some of the biggest events in recent years from the final result of the Brexit referendum and the election of Donald Trump to the unfolding of the Coronavirus pandemic. He has also appeared across BBC television where he has presented for BBC Proms, the Culture Show, and Songs of Praise.

Zeb was born and raised in Lowestoft, Suffolk and is also an author, actor and an active patron of charities Young Sounds UK, English Symphony Orchestra Youth and the British Association of Performing Arts Medicine.

Joining Zeb in being installed was the The Reverend Paul Tams who was made an Honouray Canon. Paul was trained as a teacher and came to Suffolk aged 21 to take up a teaching post, he was to remain here for 35 years eventually becoming Acting Head and Head of School. Paul was ordained at St Edmundsbury Cathedral in 1990 and Priested in February 1991 at St Mary’s Church in Mildenhall. He was NSM Assistant Priest in the Brandon Benefice before being made Rector of Santon Downham with Elveden and Lakenheath in 2017. Paul is the adopted father of 3 children and, after retiring from parish work, is now Assistant Rural Dean of Mildenhall.

The Bishop 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.

At the same service, the Cathedral also installed this year’s Order of St Edmund recipient. This award is the highest the Cathedral bestows and this year, nominations were gathered from the congregation. The Order of St Edmund recognises those who have given much to Cathedral life. In a testament to the quality of the Cathedral community, many nominations were received. This year’s recipient was Valerie Moore, a former head teacher who volunteers across the Cathedral, including as a guide, on the LEGO project, Sunday coffee and in addition has raised thousands for the Cathedral link diocese, Kagera in Tanzania. The new Diocesan Registrar, Kevin Wilson was also installed at the service.

The Very Reverend Joe Hawes, Dean of St Edmundsbury, says, “Our Feast of Edmund honours are an important part of the Cathedral calendar and a service we take great joy in. It’s our pleasure to welcome two new members to our college of canons and to highlight such a deserving member of our congregation with the Order of St Edmund.”