Walsingham Christian celebrates 100 years 

Brenda Jarvis, considered something of a local celebrity in her Walsingham church, will celebrate her centenary with a tea party in the village next week.

Tuesday 10 February will be Saint Scholastica’s Feast Day, but there will be an additional celebration taking place that day in the village of Walsingham in North Norfolk  - Mrs Brenda Jarvis will be celebrating her 100th birthday with a tea party for 60 guests at The Old Bakehouse in the High Street.
 
Born in 1926, Brenda served as a Wren in the war, helping guide planes over the radio to land from an RAF ground crew base near Manchester. 1926 was also, of course, the year the late Queen Elizabeth was born.

Brenda married Geoffrey soon after the war, and they were blessed with one son, Richard, who tragically died in his late 20’s from a very rare cancer, believed to be related to his living for some time near a nuclear reactor in the North West. His widow remarried but sadly also died from the same rare cancer some years later.
 
Geoffrey and Brenda enjoyed a number of years of Christian ministry together. He served his Anglican vocation in the Diocese of St Albans, including working as a priest near the Althorpe estate just before Lady Diana Spencer's engagement to Charles, Prince of Wales.
 
Geoffrey's final parish was Sandridge, and Rev and Mrs Jarvis retired to Walsingham, where he assisted as a NSM at the Anglican Parish Church of St Mary's until 1992, when they were both received into the Catholic Church.
 
Fr Geoffrey - as he became - died in 2009, and his funeral was held at the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, where he had assisted regularly since his priestly ordination within the Catholic Church, and an obituary appeared in the local papers.
 
Brenda continues to live in Walsingham, and was an active member of Fakenham Choral Society into her 90’s, and walking to daily Mass until a few years ago. She has now conceded to receiving a lift, but is still at The Annunciation, Friday Market, many days a week.
 
At the parish monthly anointing of the sick recently, mention was made from the priest, of the great speed with which 99 year-old Brenda was, "first out of the blocks" and leading the post-octogenarian contingent to receive the blessing at the front of the church!
 
Brenda is regarded as among the most sociable people in the village. One of the regular highlights of her week is receiving a video call from a former Shrine Franciscan - Fr Gerard Mary, now in his late 30's,  - as he dials in from Rome, America or Oxford  because of his  responsibilities as a senior member of the Conventual Franciscan’s.  
 
Fr Gerard included a chapter about his dear friend Brenda in his notes about the time he spent in Walsingham during Covid, published as “Lockdown Reflections”. He drew a moving parallel between Brenda's experience of losing her only son and her husband, and Our Lady, the widow of St Joseph, mourning her crucified son. 
 
Justin Harmer, who will be hosting the party, said “Locally, many of us are now unexpectedly familiar with February 10's status as St Scholastica's Feast Day: Brenda has of course had more birthdays than any of us, and she really is a bit of a star locally”.
 
The picture above shows Brenda with her Jack Russell, Miri, and a portrait of her as a WREN in the background. The photo is courtesy of Charlotte Bromley-Davenport.

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If so, e-mail tony.rothe@networknorwich.co.uk with details and, if possible a suitable picture.