His Majesty The King has approved the nomination of the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally, as the next Archbishop of Canterbury, Downing Street has announced.The 106th Archbishop of Canterbury since Saint Augustine arrived in Kent from Rome in 597, Bishop Sarah will be the first woman to hold the office.She will be installed in a service at Canterbury Cathedral in March 2026.Sarah Mullally has been the Bishop of London since 2018, the first woman appointed to that role, and before that was Bishop of Crediton in the Diocese of Exeter. Prior to her ordination in 2001, she was the Government’s Chief Nursing Officer for England – the youngest person ever to be appointed to that role at the age of 37 – having previously specialised as a cancer nurse. Bishop Sarah has described nursing as "an opportunity to reflect the love of God".The Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) for Canterbury nominated Bishop Sarah following a process of public consultation and prayerful discernment that began in February this year. The Canterbury CNC was made up of representatives from across the Church of England, global Anglican Communion and the Diocese of Canterbury.The most senior bishop in the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s ministry combines many roles including serving as the Diocesan Bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, Primate of All England and Metropolitan, as well as primus inter pares – or first among equals – of the Primates of the global Anglican Communion, which consists of around 85 million people, across 165 countries. In the House of Lords, the Archbishop of Canterbury is one of 26 bishops who comprise the Lords Spiritual.Bishop Sarah said: “As I respond to the call of Christ to this new ministry, I do so in the same spirit of service to God and to others that has motivated me since I first came to faith as a teenager.“At every stage of that journey, through my nursing career and Christian ministry, I have learned to listen deeply – to people and to God’s gentle prompting – to seek to bring people together to find hope and healing.“I want, very simply, to encourage the Church to continue to grow in confidence in the Gospel, to speak of the love that we find in Jesus Christ and for it to shape our actions.“And I look forward to sharing this journey of faith with the millions of people serving God and their communities in parishes all over the country and across the global Anglican Communion.“I know this is a huge responsibility but I approach it with a sense of peace and trust in God to carry me as He always has.”Lord Evans, Chair of the Crown Nominations Commission for Canterbury, said: “It has been a great privilege to have chaired the Crown Nominations Commission as it sought to discern who God is calling to lead the Church of England and Anglican Communion as Archbishop of Canterbury.“That discernment began with the public consultation, which heard the voices of thousands of people as they expressed their hopes for this nomination, and continued all the way through to the Commission’s final meeting.“I would like to thank all those who took part in this process, particularly those who took time to share their views in the consultation and the members of the Commission who worked so diligently over several months, ably assisted by the Appointments Secretaries and by the Appointments and Vocations team at Lambeth Palace.“I shall be praying for Bishop Sarah as she prepares to take up this new ministry in the coming months.”Bishop Anthony Poggo, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, said: “I welcome and commend the nomination of Bishop Sarah as the next Archbishop of Canterbury and invite the churches of the global Anglican Communion to pray for her as she prepares to take up this important ministry.“May God grant her wisdom and discernment, as she seeks to listen to Member churches, encourage mutual support, and foster unity.“The Anglican Communion Office is fully committed to supporting her ministry as she works with other Provinces and the Instruments of the Anglican Communion.“Let us pray that God will pour out His Spirit on the Anglican Communion to boldly share Christ's transformational love and the hope of the Gospel in today’s world.”The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, said: "I'm delighted that Bishop Sarah Mullally has been appointed as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury and the very first female in the role. She is a person of huge courage, wisdom, integrity, and experience. In the many challenges the Church of England faces at the moment, we need the kind, godly and stable leadership Bishop Sarah will bring. It will be my great pleasure to serve alongside her, and I hope that together we can continue the work of helping the Church of England be simpler, humbler and bolder in its proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ and in our service to the nation."
St Mary’ and All Saints’ Church will be having our Pop Up stall outside the Dunsfold shop this Saturday, 4th October, 10-12 noon. <br><br>Mel has been busy making seasonal jams and there will also be cakes and scones. Christmas is not too far away so we will have some advent calendars for the children and a few other bits. <br> There won’t be a stall in November but we will be joining the Shop Christmas Fair at the beginning of December.<br><br>WE HOPE TO SEE YOU ON SATURDAY!
Here's our service schedule for October. We hope you can join us at one or more of them.October 5th Holy Communion service and Baptism at Dunsfold Church at 10am.October 8th Mass in honour of Our Lady of Walsingham at Dunsfold Church at 9.30am.October 12th Cafe Church with our guest speaker Rev Dr Paul Adams at the Winn Hall at 10am (includes breakfast).October 12th Funday@4 at Dunsfold Church at 4pm (includes a light tea).October 19th Joint parish Holy Communion service at Dunsfold Church at 10am.October 26th. Joint parish Holy Communion service at Hascombe Church at 10am.
A big thank you to our Dunsfold church family for the generous harvest festival food donations last Sunday. The Godalming Minster Foodbank team were extremely grateful to receive Dunsfold's contributions, when we delivered these on Tuesday. The Foodbank, which runs from the St Mark's Community Centre on the Franklyn Road, Godalming, currently supports over 100 clients a month. Demand is expected to dramatically increase as we head into cooler months and towards Christmas. Your kind donations will really make a difference to struggling families in our area. Thank you.<br>And thank you also to the church flower team for the beautiful harvest decorations adorning the church. They provided a festive backdrop to Fr. Shane's first Harvest Festival service, and his homily on the meaning of Jesus's famous declaration (recorded in John 6:35) : "I am the bread of life". Surrounded by colourful harvest abundance, we are reminded of the deeper hunger that bread cannot satisfy, and the enduring fulfilment to be found in abiding with Jesus.
