Parishoners at St Bartholomew’s Church in East Ham will be observing the Feast of the Transfiguration tonight.

The occasion falls every year on August 6 in the Christian calender and marks the moment when Jesus takes three of his closest disciples with him to the top of a mountain in Galilee before his appearance changes dramatically.

Rev’d Rob Marshall, priest in charge of the East Ham Team at the church, said: “I have always had a real devotion to this great Feast Day which doesn’t get the kind of support it should because a lot of people are on holiday and it kind of gets ignored.

“It’s a story about suffering being overcome and God’s glory been revealed but there can be no glory without accepting suffering first.”

The date also coincides with the anniversary of the atomic bomb falling on Hiroshima and prayers for peace were also offered.