Features

On Sunday 26th February, parishioners and friends from across the diocese will join the Dean at his final services in the Cathedral, before he becomes the Dean of Winchester.

James Atwell has served as Suffolk’s Dean for the past 11 years, arriving in January 1995. There have been many highlights but he will be particularly remembered as the driving force behind the project, which saw the Cathedral completed in 2005, crowned by the magnificent Millennium Tower. It's one of his own abiding memories “I hope the Cathedral tower will be a beacon of hope for the whole county. Being there for the community is a Christian insight of which, for all its failings, the Church of England has always had a particular grasp. Ministry, service, sacrifice and vocation remain the essential tools of our trade as the followers of Christ.”

James Atwell and the Millennium Tower

The Very Reverend says his final service will be a sad occasion "It'll be a bit of a bereavement. The building project isn't complete because we still have to build the cloisters, chapels and disabled access, but I'm hoping I'm leaving them reasonably well set-up and they'll be finished by the autumn. The momentum of King Edmund's faith - a faith he gave his life for - is still with us and deep in the Suffolk soil."

The Bishop of St.Edmundsbury & Ipswich Richard Lewis paid tribute to James’ “monumental” contribution to the diocese and the county “We obviously think of the tremendous realization of the tower but he has also firmly established the Cathedral as the ‘mother church’ of the diocese and the county and also a place of pilgrimage and learning.”

James' feels other important work has been carried out "I've always been interested in history and the continuity of the church. We've restored many of the old books to display, added tapestries, recreated the shrine of St.Edmund and carried out of a lot of youth work and school visits."

An interview with James Atwell will feature in BBC Radio Suffolk's breakfast show on Sunday 26th February 6-9am.

James will be installed as Dean of Winchester on Saturday 25th March 2006 "One of the exciting things for my introduction service in Hampshire will be a new Te Deum written by John Rutter."

The appointment of his successor in Bury St Edmunds will be made by Bishop Richard later in the year. Use the weblinks on the right to read other features and look at pictures of the Cathedral >>>>