Church of St Editha, Tamworth

The Church of St Editha in the Staffordshire town of Tamworth enjoys its fourth incarnation upon that site, the first and second being destroyed by the pagan Danes in 874 and 943, and third combusting in 1345. The current building went up twenty years later and, so far, has managed to survive.

Externally, I found it rather unattractive. The tower is too large and heavy, its corner pinnacles resembling horns, as though paying compliments to predecessors’ destroyers. Internally, it is rather beautiful: airy, spacious and full of the usual curios for which ancient churches are famous. I thought it would be the surviving Norman arches which would most capture my interest, but it was the ‘modern’ stained glass. To St Editha’s credit, I was approached by a gentleman called Charles who was both friendly and knowledgeable. His warmth was not merely fired by architecture and stained glass, however, but a love for Jesus Christ and a desire to share the gospel. I not infrequently lament the missed opportunities in our churches and cathedrals which receive hundreds of thousands of visitors each year who remain as ignorant of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ as the day they were born. Thank God for Charles at Tamworth, whose warm-hearted approaches and gentle pointing to Jesus is worth more than all the bells, candles, history books and stained glass combined.

Nevertheless, it was a particularly beautiful stained-glass window to which he drew my attention, in memory of a former clergyman of this place who served and fell as a stretcher bearer in the Great War.

The left panel shows a man, alive, though being pulled back and down by temptation. ‘Thou wilt show me the path of life’, the accompanying text advises. In the middle portion is a man being hoisted up to heaven by strong angelic arms: ‘This mortal must put on immortality’. Thirdly, there is a man who, according to Charles, is “sinking into the depths” for having rejected the Saviour’s love and proffered salvation: ‘Out of the depths have I cried unto thee’.

Whatever our churchmanship, religious affiliation, level of morality or type of personality, death shall claim each one of us: our relationship to God through the Lord Jesus Christ will solely determine our direction of travel and our final destination.

He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19

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