The new ABC
Sunday 12th October 2025
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance:
that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried,
that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (NIV)
The new ABC
No, that’s not a new kind of alphabet; it’s the new Archbishop of Canterbury! You’ll no doubt know that the new Archbishop was announced at the end of last week. It’s to be Dame Sarah Mullally, the current Bishop of London. What are we meant to make of her appointment?
Others have already written more wisely than I can, and more fully than this space allows me. [There are good statements already in the public domain from GAFCON, CEEC, EFAC and others].
But how should we answer if we’re asked by people outside the church what we make of her? It’s tempting to answer the question directly (which is generally not a bad thing to do). However, it will likely be more profitable to speak instead of what an archbishop should be like.
For one thing, it avoids the risk of saying something about Dame Sarah which isn’t true. It also takes the focus away from her as a person and puts it where we want it to be, which is on Christ and the Bible.
So, here goes with an answer which attempts to do that: “Well, I’ll be praying for her that she encourages us all to be faithful to Jesus in what we believe and how we live, which means following what the Bible says.”
If they then want to know more, which they may not, we can go on to say that means believing and teaching that Jesus came to die for our sins and to rise again, so that we can be forgiven and have new life. Then, if the conversation goes further, I would aim to keep speaking of Jesus and what the Bible says.
That’s often easier said than done, but it seems to me a more positive and potentially fruitful way of answering the question. There will no doubt be times and places for different kinds of conversation, but this is probably not it.
Prayer
Lord, help Dame Sarah to live up to her calling to be a follower of Christ, and the vows she has made as a bishop; and help me to live up to Jesus’ call to deny myself, take up my cross and follow him. Amen.
Yours warmly, in Christ,
Chris Hobbs (Senior Minister)