Message from Bishop Rachel, 5 March 2024

Published: Tuesday March 5, 2024

Bishop RachelIn recent days as I have entered into the lives and stories of individuals and communities in the diocese, as well as participated in General Synod and the country’s political arena, the Lent journey through the wilderness and towards the foot of the cross seems as poignant as ever. The pain, brokenness and injustices of our world are writ large, yet amid all the conflict, suffering, fear and uncertainty we hold fast to the hope of the empty tomb and the ever-present signs of the Kingdom of God within us and around us.

In recent days it has been good to laugh with people as well as weep, and to celebrate as well as lament. Crucifixion and resurrection dwell together, and this 4th Sunday of Lent, Mothering Sunday, embraces that.

Originally, Mothering Sunday was the Sunday when people went to their mother church where they had been nurtured and often baptised. It was a time when families, sometimes distanced by work, gathered together. However, the reality now is that Mothering Sunday has become a day about mothers, and shops are full of cards, gifts and flowers which assume a joyous, loving and celebratory day (and I hope there will be much of that this Sunday). Yet, there will also be tears, sadness and pain; seen and unseen. Mothering Sunday is one of the most difficult days to navigate pastorally.

There will be sons and daughters of all ages who grieve the loss of their mother, and mothers who grieve the loss of their children, and that loss may be through death, alienation, abandonment, or something else.  There will be those who long for children, and those who have been unable to be parents. There will be parents and children living the delights and struggles of fostering and adoption. There will be those who have been separated from mothers whether at birth or through imprisonment or for some other reason. Indeed, the danger of even naming these situations is that I am unable to reflect the vast landscape of people’s different stories.

This Sunday, many worshipping communities will wonderfully hold the laughter and the tears together, and rightly ensuring that there is space for grief and pain in the midst of the thanksgiving for love and care. At services at which flowers are given there will be a recognition of those flowers expressing an array of emotions for different parents and children, and in many worshipping communities flowers will be given to all the women to say thank you for who they are and for their care and nurture lived in different ways (hopefully something similar is undertaken on Fathers’ Day).

As it so happens, I will be away on Mothering Sunday as this Friday will be International Women’s Day and I have the immense privilege of having a parliamentary place at the UN Commission on the Status of Women, which is being held in New York. There will be many countries and groups represented including Christian organisations such as the Mothers’ Union, Christian Aid, and women from across the Anglican Communion. It is my hope and prayer that as I engage with stories from women around the world, I will learn more of what it means for crucifixion and resurrection to dwell together, and I pray that will be true for us all – from the youngest to the oldest – as we live these days ahead.

With my thanks and prayers,

+ Rachel

One thought on “Message from Bishop Rachel, 5 March 2024

  1. Thank you for your lovely letter
    The message of sadness and joy at this time really spoke to me.
    I lost both of my parents one Easter. They both died within a few days of each other. But I thank God for their love..

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