The Anglican Communion has its first female leader. As Dame Sarah Mullally, Bishop of London, prepares to lead the Church during a time of unprecedented turmoil, Bishop Jill Duff explains how Christians can be praying for her
Today marks the announcement of the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury and, for the first time in our Church history, the new leader of the Anglican communion is a woman.
New appointments are hinge moments in the life of a church, school, company or nation. And as Bishop Sarah Mullally steps into this extraordinary role, she will help shape the church I love for the next decade.
I offer three words for our new archbishop’s tenure: faith, hope and love.
Faith
When new ministers are commissioned in the CofE, there’s an ancient wording spoken over them. “This calling is too weighty to carry in your own strength, so pray earnestly for the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
I am praying for expanded wells of faith for Bishop Sarah as she steps into this role. To draw deeply every day, every hour, every breath on the Holy Spirit – who is extravagantly available to us.
I find it easy to default to functional atheism, especially under pressure. I hope she’s not tempted to believe that she’s here to solve our problems. Overly responsible. Head down. Missing out on the resources of the heavenly realms. We need an archbishop who trusts wholly in Jesus to oversee the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion. He is the head of the Church and the government is on his shoulders.
Perhaps a first female leader might carry a charism for uniting where our instinct is to polarise
I would love Dame Sarah to offer spiritual leadership and the richness of “full fat faith”. Past heroes of faith were often known as “saints and administrators”. What if the heavy lifting of building good governance, safeguarding and care for survivors was more deeply soaked in prayer and repentance?
We are already waking up. The College of Bishops committed to fast and pray one day each up to Easter and again during September and October over the period of this appointment. To quote the words of the song: “The blood of Jesus never fails” to ultimately bring healing to generational scars, trauma and pain.
I recently asked one of our inspirational bishops from South Sudan: “How do you have so much faith to see your nation restored from exile?” “God broke me”, he simply replied.
Drawing on deep wells of faith through the gift of the Spirit won’t make the role easier. Quite the opposite. Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert and to the cross. The role is inherently painful. But God’s Spirit can strengthen us to step into pain, to follow Jesus through the crucifixions. This is the cost of seeing the resurrection while we are still alive.
Hope
Put very simply, I believe the calling of the CofE is to “be church for people round here”. I love the variety that has been re-emerging in our 21st century congregations. We quietly offer 270 million volunteer hours in every town and village in our country.
When we commission new ministers, we pray for them to take up the “cure of souls”, an ancient Christian term from the pastoral rule of Gregory the Great. This is not just about spiritual healing for people who come on a Sunday, but wholeness in the widest sense for every single person in the parish. Or the school. Or prison. Or hospital. Bishop Sarah has a deep calling for healing from her previous career.
We need an Archbishop who trusts wholly in Jesus as they oversee the Church
Drawing on her keen sense of humour, I hope Bishop Sarah will bring joy as a natural evangelist and confident leader in mission. Research such as Bible Society’s Quiet Revival and the Evangelical Alliance’s Finding Jesus shows the nation is hungry for the gospel.
I hope for this next season to be marked by unlikely people finding hope, healing and home with Jesus. Not least those trapped underground by poverty, racism or elitism. Not as ‘poor unfortunates’ that we take care of but because, in the words of Heidi Baker, “the poor are our greatest teachers”. I hope we see an end to the dry season in our nation. Revival and renewal in every sphere of our society.
Love
I love that the CofE is a broad church. There is a richness of traditions and flavours, with a deep commitment to people and place. My heart is always warmed by our priests, who have such a big heart and love everyone in the parish where they have made their home. On a good day, this outward focus in mission rescues us from the inward distraction of haggling over our differences.
A first step for any archbishop is to inspire confidence in those ‘not of her tribe’ that she is their archbishop and wishes them to flourish; that those who feel weak in the Church are going to be treated “with special honour” (1 Corinthians 12:23).
For Dame Sarah, this is quite straightforward. If she can affirm that those opposed to women’s ordination are honourable sisters and brothers in Christ, that she’s committed to mutual flourishing, then the whole denomination will have confidence that she is archbishop for us all.
The more generosity and respect she shows, the wider the ripples will be felt. I hope we strengthen our bond of love and partnership across the countries in our Anglican Communion where faith, hope and love are strong in vibrant mission. We need their gospel fire in our day.
A first female leader carries untold expectation – not least on social media, where women come under harsher criticism. But perhaps a first female leader might also carry a charism for uniting where our instinct is to polarise. In English history our three longest-serving and best-loved monarchs, who each took charge following times of turmoil, all happened to be women.
Finally, do pray for our new archbishop. For faith, hope and love. Pray earnestly for the gift of the Holy Spirit. May she know extraordinary grace for this extraordinary role in this extraordinary season.
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