By Canon Deborah Parsons, Canon Chancellor
Few who witnessed the Installation of the new Archbishop of Canterbury on Wednesday 25 March could fail to have been moved by the service or to be caught up in the joy that rippled through Canterbury Cathedral, when the singers and dancers from the African Choir of Norfolk sung “Muhona,” wearing traditional brightly coloured dresses.
Although Archbishop Sarah is the 106th incumbent, this is a historic moment because it is the first time a woman has been appointed to the office in its 1400 year history. Even twelve years ago, the appointment of a woman as Archbishop of Canterbury would have been unthinkable.
Her installation marks both continuity and renewal in the life of the Church and is not merely a ceremonial role but a deeply spiritual calling – one that echoes the Scriptures’ invitation to surrender to God’s will.
How fitting then that her installation should have occurred on Lady Day. The day when we remember The Annunciation. Mary’s “yes” to God.
When the Angel Gabriel announced that Mary was to bear God’s son, Mary responded with humble obedience: “Here I am, the servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your Word.” (Luke 1:38) Mary was an unlikely person to be called to be theotokos, God-bearer, Mother of God. Young, unmarried, engaged to Joseph, poor. She certainly didn’t expect her life to take such an unexpected turn.
Archbishop Sarah is in good company, as she doesn’t follow the mould of her predecessors in either gender or education. Instead, she brings to her ministry her experience as a mother and wife, as Chief Nursing Officer for England (the youngest ever) and as a priest, Bishop of Crediton and Bishop of London.
I deeply admire her willingness to follow Christ in the way of the cross and her courage to lead in an age when social media is often unkind and unforgiving and where to speak out as a woman is costly.
In her poem, “The Annunciation,” Denise Levertov says:
“we are told of meek obedience. No one mentions
Courage.
The engendering Spirit
Did not enter her without consent.
God waited.
She was free
To accept or to refuse, choice
Integral to humanness.
Called to a destiny more momentous
Than any in all of Time,
She did not quail,
Only asked
A simple, “How can this be?” …
She did not cry, “I cannot. I am not worthy.”
Nor, “I have not the strength….”
She did not submit with gritted teeth,
Raging, coerced.
Bravest of all humans,
Consent illumined her….
……… courage unparalleled
Opened her utterly.”
As the new Archbishop of Canterbury stands before God and the Church to offer her own “yes,” she is consenting by the grace of God to serve Christ and shepherd God`s people with faithfulness, humility, courage and compassion.
The Annunciation reminds us that every vocation begins with listening. Mary listened, pondered, and trusted. Archbishop Sarah listened too – to God’s Word, to the needs of the Church and to the cries of the world. Her ministry, like Mary’s response, becomes fruitful not through power but through humility, courage, obedience and grace.
So, too, in every age, God seeks courageous people willing to say: “Here I am.” (Luke 1:38). In that humble “yes,” the Church finds renewal, hope and the promise of Christ’s presence.
How will you respond?