In Depth:  Rebecca Chapman

Rebecca Chapman

When the chips are down, what qualities do you look for in a leader? Someone who can offer a stirring speech or a strategic vision might spring to mind. But when a storm comes, there is something to be said for a calm voice and a firm hand on the tiller. And with this morning’s historic announcement that Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London, is to be our 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, that is exactly what the Church of England has chosen. 

Bishop Sarah is not an evangelical. She has previously led on the Living in Love and Faith process, and described the vote in 2023 to approve same-sex blessings as a "moment of hope for the Church" noting that there were prayers "within that suite that I would use".  But she has always been aware of the differences of opinion across the Church of England on this, and other, issues, adding "I know that what we have proposed as a way forward does not go nearly far enough for many but too far for others." 

Rebecca Chapman

Monday morning isn’t where I usually expect to hear the gospel explained with vigour and vim. If I’m honest, I’m often not anticipating much in the way of either first thing. 

So tuning into Radio 5 Live last week for a catch up on the weekend’s news, I didn’t have much in the way of evangelistic expectations. But then presenter Nicky Campbell announced that the focus of the show was to be forgiveness, following the interview of the former Archbishop of Canterbury on Sunday 30 March with Laura Kuenssberg.

Rebecca Chapman

Advent is finally upon us. In just a few weeks we will celebrate Christmas, with all the fun and feasting that entails. 

But before any of us get too enthusiastic about menu-planning for the big day or the hospitality we hope to extend following carols or crib services, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson would apparently like us all to know that the church is to blame for the obesity crisis.

Rebecca Chapman

Just over 12 years ago, on 9 November 2012, I walked down the wooden stairs from the Archbishop's flat, towards Lambeth Palace’s largest function room, the wood-panelled Guard Room, which was heaving with journalists. We were about to announce who would be the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury.

With me walked Justin and Caroline Welby. Justin made his oft-repeated joke, that he felt like the eyes of the figures in the paintings on the Palace walls were somehow watching him. He was full of energy, enthusiastic, almost tigger-ish at the task ahead of him. And he was evangelical.

Rebecca Chapman

How often do you hear the conversation happening around you, and wish that you could think of the perfect riposte? Not spiteful or cutting, not designed to trip the other person up, but to have the words to make your point in a way that feels modest yet memorable. 

Towards the end of October, the Irish-American actress Saoirse Ronan appeared on the BBC’s Graham Norton show, on the sofa alongside fellow actors Eddie Redmayne, Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington, each promoting various new projects.  So far, so Friday night chat-show – some good-natured banter between colleagues and friends.  Conversation turned to training for the preparation Redmayne had been taken through for his recently released remake of The Day of the Jackal, including being taught how to use his phone as a weapon if he was attacked.

Rebecca Chapman

Amid all the difficult conversations taking place across the Church of England on sexuality and Living in Love and Faith (LLF), requests for greater transparency abound. We all want to make sure that our views are heard 'in the room where it happens’ – whether that is General Synod, meetings at Lambeth Palace, or residentials in Leicester.

Snippets of information trickle out: who has been invited to what, who was there, what was said or promised. Trust appears to be at an all-time low within our national church – but attempts are being made to rebuild it.

Rebecca Chapman

This long, hot, sporty summer rolls on. Schools have been broken up for weeks, and children are everywhere - including all over my home! My three sons scrap over just about everything in the summer heat. Cries of ‘It’s not fair!’ seem to constantly ring out from one or the other; but how do I discern whose rights matter more when push comes to (literal) shove between the children?

Over in Paris, the Olympic women’s boxing has also been dominated by cries of ‘It’s not fair!’ Just 46 seconds into her bout against Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, Italian Angela Carini was punched so hard in the face that she fell to the floor weeping, ended the fight, saying to those in her corner 'Non è giusto' ('It’s not fair'). Later, she said she had feared for her life.