Staff and pupils at local school excited for service: ‘It’s a really big thing’published at 14:05 GMT
14:05 GMT
Katie Williams
Reporting from Canterbury
A little earlier, I visited The Archbishop’s School which “sits in the shadow of the cathedral”, to quote the headteacher David Elliott. I spoke to staff and some pupils.
Three girls in Year 9 tell me they’ve written a prayer on a prayer card Sarah Mullally handed out on her six-day pilgrimage from London to Canterbury.
The words of the prayer focus on “what we thought the archbishop would need”, one says, adding: “It was to do with shepherding and leading people”. They were asked to write the prayer before the identity of the new archbishop was announced.
“It’s a really big thing,” says school chaplain Reverend Dawn Watson. “For a chunk of my lifetime, I wouldn’t have been able to be ordained… I think today is a huge, huge day for the Church and also for women in the Church… and for women in general.”
I ask the Year 9 students what Mullally was like when they met her. They say she’s “amazing”, “really humble”, “sweet”, and that she “considers other people” and spoke lots about her family.
The pupils will be at today’s service – one is doing a reading. “I’m excited and nervous because it’s in front of really important people,” she says.
Image source, Katie Williams/BBCImage caption,
Reverend Dawn Watson and headteacher David Elliott