By Sr Anne-Cathy Graber, with Sr Pascale Avice
Anne-Cathy Graber and Pascale Avice, sisters from the Chemin Neuf Community, were invited to attend the installation of Sarah Mullally as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury on 25 March. Pascale Avice served for many years at Lambeth Palace with the Chemin Neuf Community. Anne-Cathy Graber, a Mennonite pastor, was invited in her capacity as Director of Ecumenical Relations for the Mennonite World Conference. Anne-Cathy shares her impressions of a woman who is part of a journey already committed to listening and encounter. From her arrival as a pilgrim to a simple, fraternal time spent with a few church leaders, something of the face of a Church on the move and in dialogue was revealed.
What if we were to discuss the installation ceremony of the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of the Anglican Communion, by first looking at the events that preceded and followed it? Indeed, two moments frame this historic occasion and bear witness to Archbishop Sarah Mullally’s personal choices. Two moments: one reported by the media, the other experienced in complete privacy.
Setting out from London, where she was a bishop, Sarah Mullally arrived in Canterbury as a pilgrim, with her husband, after a 10-day walk during which she met with local churches, organisations… and all those who wished to join her on her journey for a few kilometres. A beautiful parable of a synodal authority that ‘walks with’ and listens! This was the event that preceded the installation ceremony itself.
It was this same witness of an authority that listens and draws near that some of us experienced the day after the magnificent celebration. Indeed, rather unexpectedly, the church leaders present at the celebration were invited for a time of fellowship. After welcoming the Catholic delegation and then the Orthodox one, the Protestant leaders—due to the late nature of the invitation—numbered just… six (!)… Moreover, these were not representatives of the major Protestant traditions (Lutheran, Reformed, Methodist, etc.) but leaders from the Salvation Army, the Quakers, the Mennonites, and the World Christian Forum. Archbishop Sarah Mullally opened the gathering by saying how important it was to her that the other Churches had been present at this celebration and that the ecumenical call was fundamental to her ministry. She invited each of us to share what we thought and had taken away from the previous evening’s celebration. Then, one of us suggested that we pray together, spontaneously. This was done very simply. To conclude, the Quaker leader invited us, in accordance with his own tradition, to a time of silent prayer. Simplicity, fellowship, and a touch of emotion… The few Anglican bishops present at the back of the room confirmed that this was not all that common, but how very much in keeping with this woman’s character.
As for the service, it would be best to watch it, as it is a lovely way to get a feel for the Anglican liturgy.
I remember the opening scene, when the archbishop, still outside Canterbury Cathedral, knocked three times on the door. A dialogue then ensued between her and the children: ‘Who are you, and why are you asking to come in?’ “I am Sarah, a servant of Jesus Christ, and I come as one who seeks God’s grace, to walk with you.” Or again: “How do you come among us, and with what confidence?” “I come knowing nothing other than Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ crucified, and in weakness, fear and with much trembling.”
The ecumenical commitment was not made visible solely by the presence of leaders from almost all the Churches, not to mention representatives of other religions. It was asked whether, as Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally would agree to commit herself to praying and working for the visible unity of the Church of Christ, and to solemnly sign this covenant with ‘Churches Together’, a very significant ecumenical movement in the United Kingdom, amongst others.
25 March: this was the Feast of the Annunciation. Such a celebration made Mary’s words ‘visible’, a point Sarah Mullally was keen to emphasise in her sermon, in which she recalled her own experience at the age of sixteen, when she was a nurse: ‘for nothing is impossible with God’.