The recent appointment of a new Archbishop of Canterbury didn’t seem to be commented upon by the main newspapers in New Zealand. In England, Anglicanism being a state church, it was big news. And the appointee being a woman, the first time in 1400 years, made it much bigger news. Another glass ceiling fissure.

Predictably, there were the usual outcries from some of the ecclesiastical boys’ clubs around the world, including the rich and powerful diocese of Sydney. Yes, it’s not commonly known outside of Anglicanism that one of best examples of regressive, oppressive theology and practice is found in that beautiful, vibrant, diverse city across the ditch.

What I find interesting about the appointee isn’t so much her gender, or her theology (labelled ‘liberal’), but her skill set. For Sarah Mullally’s first profession was nursing. And, although she started on the wards, she rose through the nursing ranks to become the Chief Nursing Officer of Britain. Fun fact, the NHS has 423,000 nurses. She received a ‘Dame-ship’ for her service.

Reading through her public curriculum vitae it seems she has held positions as a staff nurse, an ethics teacher, and in governance roles in universities. But maybe more importantly, especially in the last two decades, she has experience as a manager and strategic leader of large institutions (she is currently the Bishop of London). These roles, I would guess, involve significant conflict resolution.

So, what this looks like – and I have no personal knowledge of how gifted she is in such leadership roles – is that those appointing her have chosen not a theological teacher, or renowned preacher, or exemplary pastor, or community builder, or inspirational entrepreneur, but an experienced and sound institutional leader. Someone who not only knows and cares for people but has the skillset to run a big ship.

I wish her well for the Church of England is a battered ship, and with (cultural) climate change it would be a brave person who would predict ‘fair winds and following seas.’ The waves of homophobia battered her penultimate predecessor, and the storm of child abuse sunk her predecessor. I hope she has good navigational help to steer clear of shifting sands and unforeseen rocks.

The challenge for any church - small, medium, big, or institutional – is how to manage the expectations, infrastructure, and offerings of a traditional church and at the same time nurture and encourage spirituality wherever and in whatever form it may be found. To be overly simplistic, one could call the former religion and the latter spirituality.

And I think that modern day church leaders try to balance these two, some tipping one way, some the other. Of course there are many different types of people and types of leaders in the church - some gifted in management and strategy, some in teaching and preaching, some in pastoring, some in community building, and a few in entrepreneurship. Rarely does one fit all, or most, expectations.

I suppose that’s my fear for Dame Sarah. Not the blatant sexism. Or the snobbery around which university she didn’t attend. Or the trappings of state religion and it’s foundation of privilege. No, my fear is the multiple expectations placed on her at this pinnacle. I hope she has the courage to be herself, leave undone the many things that others are telling her should be done, and be at peace.

Glynn

(Photo: Creative Commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)