A tale of two Sarahs

If you’re looking for a snapshot of the state of global Christianity today, a good place to start would be by looking at two violently contrasting Sarahs: Bishop Sarah, and Cardinal Sarah. One is Anglican, the other Catholic; one white, the other black; one bland, the other terrifying. Both are tipped to be leaders of their respective churches: Bishop Sarah as a future archbishop of Canterbury; Cardinal Sarah as a possible pope. I wonder which of them Jesus would prefer to be stuck on a desert island with.

Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London–elect, comes across as about the most upbeat, smiley person you could hope to meet. A happily married, down-to-earth ex-nurse and mother of two, Bishop Sarah wants everyone in the world to be kind and happy and to feel loved by her and to love her. She knows London has a reputation as a polarised diocese full of misogynistic clergy who refuse to be ordained by a woman, and she wants to spread the love and make everyone as nice and accepting as she is. Slightly nervous of her own voice, she’s a retweeter rather than a tweeter, and she only retweets soothing things, such as ‘#TacklingHomelessnessTogether’ and ‘Plant a seed today — in your garden, in a relationship or amongst the pains of the world’. She uses Fairtrade products wherever possible.

Her statements are so well-meaning and wishy-washy that you can neither argue with nor remember them. When obliged to write something on her new appointment, she said: ‘Churches confident in faith, compassionate in action and creative in partnership come about when local ministers are supported to be the best they can and members of their congregations are encouraged to flourish and be ambassadors for their faith.’

She’s really nice and supportive to gay people but can’t go as far as actually saying that they should be allowed church blessings, because that is not yet the party line.