Episcopal Church of the Redeemer

Worshiping God, living in community, reaching out to the world.

Category: Archbishop of Canterbury

Bishop Sarah Mullally chosen next Archbishop of Canterbury

[Episcopal News Service] London Bishop Sarah Mullally has been chosen as the next archbishop of Canterbury. She will become the first woman to serve in the historic leadership role for both the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Mullally will succeed former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. He stepped down in January under pressure from a scandal. He was accused of not appropriately addressing allegations of child abuse by a prominent church member.

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior bishop in the Church of England. This role is an “instrument of communion” among the 42 autonomous, interdependent provinces that make up the 85-million-member Anglican Communion. All member churches, including The Episcopal Church, have historic ties with the Church of England.

King Charles III approved Mullally’s nomination as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, a largely ceremonial step in a process overseen by the Church of England. Her selection followed months of deliberation by the Crown Nominations Commission with input from Anglicans around the world. The selection now must be ratified by the College of Canons of Canterbury Cathedral later this year. It will be confirmed at a ceremony in January 2026, after which she will take office.

The Rt. Rev. and Rt. Hon. Dame Sarah Mullally, DBE

Mullally, 63, has served as the Bishop of London since 2018. She was ordained to the priesthood in 2001 after a career as a nurse treating cancer patients. An installation service for the new archbishop of Canterbury is scheduled for March 2026 at Canterbury Cathedral.

“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,” Mullally said in a written statement. “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.”

As archbishop of Canterbury, Mullally becomes the “first among equals” with the primates of the other 41 Anglican provinces. She will have responsibility for convening the Primates’ Meeting and Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops. Those two bodies make up the Instruments of Communion, along with the Anglican Consultative Council and the Archbishop of Canterbury. She will serve as a “focus of unity” while also presiding at Anglican Consultative Council meetings.

Response to the announcement

Bishop Anthony Poggo, secretary general of the Anglican Communion, issued a statement celebrating the selection of Mullally and inviting Anglicans “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.”

And Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe described Mullally as “a wise and steady leader, a faithful advocate for the leadership of women in the church, and a bishop who will be committed to safeguarding vulnerable people and victims of abuse.”

“I have written to Bishop Sarah to send my warmest congratulations to her, her husband, Eamonn, and their family, and to tell her how much I look forward to working with her at the primates meeting and across the Anglican Communion,” Rowe said. “Please join me in praying for the Church of England, for all of the primates and churches of the Anglican Communion, and for Bishop Sarah at this momentous time.”

Possible changes to the role of Archbishop of Canterbury

Mullally takes office at a fraught time for the Anglican Communion. It is poised to consider changes to the archbishop of Canterbury’s leadership role in the communion.

The Anglican Consultive Council will take up Two proposals up next year. These would adjust how the 42 Anglican provinces relate to each other — de-emphasizing the Church of England and the archbishop of Canterbury while elevating more geographically diverse leaders for the global network of Anglican and Episcopal churches.

The proposals were developed partly in response to longstanding theological divisions between some of the provinces. It remains to be seen whether the proposed changes could mend what some conservative bishops have described as their “impaired” communion with provinces like The Episcopal Church that are more progressive on issues of LGBTQ+ inclusion.

Under one of the proposals, the archbishop of Canterbury would no longer serve as the ACC president. The presidency instead would rotate among leaders from the Anglican Communion’s five regions. And the Primates’ Meeting and Lambeth Conference would be newly convened by the Primates’ Standing Committee.

David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.

About Episcopal News Service

Episcopal News Service (ENS) offers in-depth reporting of local, regional, national and international news for Episcopalians and others interested in the church’s mission and ministry. Episcopal News Service is the official news source of the Episcopal Church.

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

October 3, 2025
Global Anglican Communion given greater voice in choice of future Archbishops of Canterbury

[Church of England] The global Anglican Communion will have a greater voice on the body which nominates future Archbishops of Canterbury as a result of changes approved by the Church of England’s General Synod today.

Until now the wider worldwide Anglican Communion, outside of England, has been represented by just one of the 16 members of the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) for the See of Canterbury.

But under changes to the Standing Orders of the General Synod formally approved today, there will now be five representatives of other churches of the Anglican Communion – one each from Africa; the Americas; Middle East and Asia; Oceania and Europe.

The new rules will also ensure the inclusion of laity and clergy as well as bishops; a balance of men and women and that at least half of the five will be of Global Majority Heritage.

Crown Nominations Commission for the See of Canterbury

All diocesan bishops of the Church of England, including the archbishops, are appointed by Her Majesty the Queen following a nomination by the Crown Nominations Commission for the see.

Under the changes the Canterbury CNC will now have 17 voting members, with the number of representatives from the Diocese of Canterbury reducing from six to three.

Meanwhile the appointment process for the Bishop of Dover, the suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Canterbury, will be carried out by a CNC rather than being appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, as in the past.

The changes were agreed in principle through a series of motions passed at Synod and Saturday. New standing orders were then drafted and were approved in a further vote today.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said:

From the richest to the poorest nations, the Anglican Communion spans a hugely diverse tapestry of societies, cultures and human experience.

Anglicans worldwide have a profound and historic relationship with the See of Canterbury, and the Archbishop of Canterbury has the great privilege of serving as a focus of unity for Anglican churches across the globe.

It is only right that this international family of churches is given a voice in the process of selecting the ‘first among equals’ of the bishops of our global communion.

That is why I am pleased that General Synod has voted to increase the representation of Anglicans from around the Communion in the process of choosing future Archbishops of Canterbury.

This small but important step will ensure that the Crown Nominations Commission for the See of Canterbury has balanced and diverse representation from the entire Anglican Communion.

I also want to thank the Diocese of Canterbury for giving up three seats on the Canterbury CNC to enable this change.

I pray that this significant step will bind us more closely together as disciples of Jesus Christ, called to share his good news with a world in need.

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County. We welcome you be with us as we walk the way of Jesus.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. We are a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

July 21, 2022
Archbishop of Canterbury’s Christmas Message for Anglican Communion
Watch the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Christmas message to churches in the Anglican Communion around the world.

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I feel so privileged to be able to wish you a joy-filled Christmas and a hope-filled 2022.

Right across the Anglican Communion, we are facing the most enormous challenges. Outside the tragedies of war, this is the biggest time of global tension we have faced since the Communion began.

So many parts of the Communion already know what it is to suffer. Floods, wars, civil war, corruption, suffering, illness, pandemic, malaria, measles, cholera, typhoid, poverty, oppression, persecution. These continue to be the facts of life.

But we can still find joy, because that’s the world that Jesus Christ came into.

All around the world, the Communion is meeting these needs. We can’t do everything, but we can do everything that God gives us the resources to do. I know of a place in the middle of a civil war, which is nevertheless running a COVID clinic. I know of a province, where there is appalling terrorism, which is strengthening communities. I know of places that are speaking up for injustice, and saying ‘this must stop’. I know of places that are welcoming refugees and internally displaced persons.

The Anglican Communion is called to the Five Marks of Mission – to tell, to teach, to tend, to transform and to treasure the world in which we live. We are God’s church for God’s world, as the Lambeth Conference title rightly says. That’s God’s mission to us. And we can give thanks at Christmas that all over the world people are carrying out that mission.

And the challenges that God has called us to face are indeed huge. At the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow in Scotland in November I saw the struggles that people are facing all over the world, calling us to recognise that unless climate change is tackled it is a threat to every single one of us. None of us can be a passenger in this challenge. It’s one we all have to face.

As Christians we face this challenge because it is God’s world that we are seeking to preserve and care for. It is God’s church that has to look after refugees and face the issue of war, which will become worse if climate change just rages unchecked around the world over the next generation. We need to pray for that, act on that, speak about that, and take part in transformation. Let’s work together on that.

And then we look forward in hope as well. Not just at the challenges but in the fact that in ’22 we will meet online and physically. We will meet and we will celebrate that we belong to one another with all our differences. The bishops and their spouses will come from all over the world. To pray, to learn, to think, to commitment afresh to telling people of the hope that is found only and uniquely in Jesus Christ.

We will recommit to teaching people how to grow in love and in knowledge of Christ. To look afresh at how with changes in science and climate and so many ways we tend the needy. To talk about how we can transform unjust structures of society and bring reconciliation in places of conflict. And to campaign to treasure the earth in which we live.

I have learned so much about the Anglican Communion in the almost nine years that I have been Archbishop of Canterbury. I am not a pope. We are a fellowship, a Communion. Sisters and brothers in Christ of all ages and cultures. God has brought us together. Let us stay and walk together, to do God’s work together and to be together in heaven through the salvation he offers us.

Again, may God grant you Christ’s joy this Christmas, and Christ’s hope in this coming year.

Archbishop Justin Welby

The Most Rev. Justin Welby was ordained in 1992 after an 11-year career in the oil industry. He spent his first 15 years serving in Coventry diocese, often in places of significant deprivation.

In 2002 he was made a Canon of Coventry Cathedral, where he jointly led its international reconciliation work. During this time, he worked extensively in Africa and the Middle East. Archbishop Justin has had a passion for reconciliation and peace-making ever since.

He was Dean of Liverpool from 2007 to 2011 and Bishop of Durham from 2011 to 2012, before being announced as the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury in late 2012.

Read more of the biography of Archbishop Justin Welby.

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Mission of the Anglican Communion

As followers of Jesus Christ, Christians are sent into the world to live lives inspired by his love and teaching and to bring that transforming and sacrificial love into all aspects of society.

They invite others to find faith and follow Jesus as disciples, inspired to live a “Jesus Shaped Life.”

This work of mission is encapsulated in the Anglican Communion’s Five Marks of Mission:

The mission of the Church is the mission of Christ:
1. To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
2. To teach, baptize and nurture new believers
3. To respond to human need by loving service
4. To transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and pursue peace and reconciliation
5. To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth
The mission and discipleship of Anglicans and Episcopalians are shaped, expressed and lived out in numerous areas such as:
- Intentional discipleship, evangelism and church planting
- Gender justice
- Promoting reconciliation
- Tackling poverty, mass migration and modern slavery
- Relief and development
- Care for the environment
- Family matters
- Social justice and indigenous issues
- Youth and children’s ministry
- Theological education
- Engaging with people of other Christian traditions and of other faiths
Anglicans and Episcopalians work alongside some of the world’s poorest communities but also seek to influence the powerful, for example, through representation at the United Nations. The work might be through churches or agencies such as the Anglican Alliance.

Mutual support and interdependence are important. The Anglican Communion encourages dioceses around the world to form partnerships for mutual benefit. These are known as Companion Links.

Church of the Redeemer

Welcome to Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. We are a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.
December 23, 2021
Joint statement on climate change
Three of the world’s top Christian leaders—Pope Francis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby—issued the following press release and joint statement on climate change.

[Sept. 7, 2021] For the first time, the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion have jointly warned of the urgency of environmental sustainability, its impact on poverty, and the importance of global cooperation.

Pope Francis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and Archbishop Justin Welby urge everyone to play their part in “choosing life” for the future of the planet.

In a joint statement, the Christian leaders have called on people to pray, in this Christian season of creation, for world leaders ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) this November. The statement reads: “We call on everyone, whatever their belief or worldview, to endeavour to listen to the cry of the earth and of people who are poor, examining their behaviour and pledging meaningful sacrifices for the sake of the earth which God has given us.”

The joint declaration issues a clear warning—“Today, we are paying the price…Tomorrow could be worse”—and concludes that, “This is a critical moment. Our children’s future and the future of our common home depend on it.”

The three Christian leaders spoke against injustice and inequality, saying, “We stand before a harsh justice: biodiversity loss, environmental degradation and climate change are the inevitable consequences of our actions, since we have greedily consumed more of the earth’s resources than the planet can endure. But we also face a profound injustice: the people bearing the most catastrophic consequences of these abuses are the poorest on the planet and have been the least responsible for causing them.”

The statement calls on people to do the following:
- Pray for world leaders ahead of COP26.
- For individuals: To make meaningful sacrifices for the sake of the planet, working together and taking responsibility for how we use our resources.
- For those with far-reaching responsibilities: To choose people-centered profits and lead the transition to just and sustainable economies.
Read the full statement, A Joint Message for the Protection of Creation.

This statement from the Office of Public Affairs of the Episcopal Church.

United Nations Climate Change Conferences

United Nations climate change conferences have grown exponentially in size over the past two decades—from small working sessions into the largest annual conferences currently held under the auspices of the United Nations—and are now among the largest international meetings in the world. The intergovernmental negotiations have likewise become increasingly complex and involve an ever-increasing number of officials from governments all over the world, at all levels, as well as huge numbers of representatives from civil society and the global news media.

Read more about United Nations climate change conferences.

Read more about COP 26.

His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew

His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is the 270th successor to the Apostle Andrew and spiritual leader of 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide. Since ascending the Ecumenical Throne on November 2, 1991, he has tirelessly pursued the vision of his enthronement message spiritual revival, Orthodox unity, Christian reconciliation, interfaith tolerance and coexistence, protection of the environment and a world united in peace, justice, solidarity, and love.

Read more about Patriarch Bartholomew.

Pope Francis

Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on Dec. 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires. His father was a railway worker who immigrated to Argentina from Italy, and his mother was a housewife of Italian origin. Bergoglio had four siblings.

Read more about Pope Francis.

Archbishop Justin Welby

The Most Revd and Rt Hon Justin Welby has been the Archbishop of Canterbury since 2013. He has three main priorities for his ministry – Evangelism and Witness; Prayer and the Renewal of Religious life; and Reconciliation.

Before he began training for ministry in 1989, Archbishop Justin worked in the oil industry for 11 years. He is married to Caroline and they have five children and four grandchildren.

Read more about Archbishop Justin Welby.

Church of the Redeemer

Welcome to Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. We are a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.
September 7, 2021

Spring forward this Sunday, March 8, 2026. Daylight saving time starts.

Stop by The Hangar at Kenmore Town Square anytime between 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm for Ashes to Go on Ash Wednesday, March 5, 2025.

3rd Sunday in Lent (Year A), March 8, 2026. Services at 8:00 am (no music) and 10:30 (music). Christian education for children and adults at 9:15 am. Spring forward one hour for the start of Daylight Saving Time.