29th March 2026
A New Beginning
March 25th, the day on which I'm writing, is Lady Day. Falling exactly 9 months before Christmas, it's the Feast of the Annunciation to Mary - or of the conception of Christ. Most often, as this year, it falls in Lent and, in the Middle Ages, became a moment of respite from fasting and a celebration in the midst of a season of penitence. It's no accident that the installation of the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury,The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dame Sarah Mullally, has taken place this afternoon.
Whatever happens next in terms of Archbishop Sarah's time in office, she will, inevitably, be remembered as the first woman to hold this role. And so, her "yes" surely resonates with the "yes" of Mary to the angel 2000 years ago. The "teenage Sarah, who put her faith in God and made a commitment to follow Jesus," the new Archbishop told the BBC, "could never have imagined this moment." As we approach Holy Week, I suspect the teenage Mary, who gave her "yes" to the angel and nurtured the infant Jesus into adulthood, could never have imagined exactly what would lie ahead either.
With Holy Week beginning on Sunday, we recall that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was among the disciples who followed Jesus right up to the end. From the cross, Jesus gives his mother into the care of the disciple whom he loves, and gives this disciple into the care of his mother (John 19:25-27). At this moment of violence, grief and deep suffering, the beginnings of a new community are sown - a community that begins at the foot of the cross.
Archbishop Sarah begins her official duties during Holy Week. She faces a Church scarred by violence, grief and failures, especially in safeguarding, suffering to which she referred in her sermon today:
"In a world already torn by conflict, suffering, and division, we must also acknowledge the hurt that exists much closer to home.We must not overlook or minimise the pain experienced by those who have been harmed through the actions, inactions, or failures of those in our own Christian churches and communities."
Perhaps the example of Mary, waiting at the foot of the cross, might again resonate. It speaks of the merit of being, waiting in the place of violence, suffering and grief, not rushing to the resurrection but staying by the cross. And perhaps it will be there, as it was for Mary and the disciple Jesus loved, that the beginnings of new community are formed.
I encourage us to pray for Archbishop Sarah as she steps into an incredibly demanding role. And, this Holy Week, I encourage us to stay with the difficult parts of the story - not to rush ahead to the resurrection. For it is in the place of suffering, in the place of grief, that something new begins.
