Announcing the next Archbishop of Canterbury

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The Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally, Bishop of London
Friday 3rd October 2025
His Majesty The King has approved the nomination of the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally, as the next Archbishop of Canterbury.
The 106th Archbishop of Canterbury since Saint Augustine arrived in Kent from Rome in 597, Bishop Sarah will be the first woman to hold the office.
She will be installed in a service at Canterbury Cathedral on 25th March 2026.
Sarah Mullally has been the Bishop of London since 2018, the first woman to hold that role, and previously served as the Bishop of Crediton in the Diocese of Exeter. Prior to her ordination in 2001, she was the Government’s Chief Nursing Officer for England – the youngest person ever to be appointed to that role at the age of 37 – having previously specialised as a cancer nurse. Bishop Sarah has described nursing as “an opportunity to reflect the love of God”.

Bishop Sarah said: “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.
“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.
“I know this is a huge responsibility, but I approach it with a sense of peace and trust in God to carry me as He always has.”

The Rt Revd Richard Jackson, Bishop of Hereford said,   “I am delighted to welcome Bishop Sarah as the first female Archbishop in the history of the Church of England. Sarah brings a wealth of experience from her nursing career and a profound pastoral heart which she has demonstrated consistently in caring for those with many different views in the Diocese of London. As the only Diocese in the Church of England where no churches have passed motions to restrict womens’ priestly ministry, we are delighted to welcome her as our Archbishop and look forward to her first visit. Personally, in my role as Clerk of the Closet, I look forward to presenting her to His Majesty to pay homage in February. This is an extraordinarily demanding role and she will need our prayers and support which we gladly offer to her and her family.“
Following the announcement, the next stage of the appointment process is the Election by the College of Canons of Canterbury Cathedral, which will take place before Christmas.
On 28th January 2026, there will be a Confirmation of Election at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, at which Bishop Sarah will legally become the Archbishop of Canterbury.
On 25th March 2026, there will be an Installation (sometimes referred to as an ‘enthronement’) at Canterbury Cathedral.

You can read more here.      

Hereford Police Choir

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Join us for a concert celebrating St George’s Day with Hereford Police Choir and their guests, the Marches Military Wives’ Choir on Saturday 26th April at 7pm at St Mary’s Church, Ross. Proceeds to St Mary’s Church.

Tickets available from Ross Parishes Benefice Office (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday mornings – not Bank Holidays), by phoning Ted Willis on 01989 564967 or online (£11.55 including fee), here.

12 Days of Christmas Thank Yous – 5th Day

Posted on by MarkSanderson

8th Day – All who look after and beautify St Mary’s Church

A 740 year old building requires constant attention to keep it in a good state of repair and looking good. This work is ultimately the responsibility of the churchwardens and we say a big thank you to Bryan Jones and Mark Sanderson who have been especially busy during this year with no Rector.

Week by week our voluntary cleaning team meets: Ian, Janet C, Janet N, Jean, Paul, Len, Julian, Sue, John, Avril and Toni.

 Special thanks to Sue and Bryan who are regularly to be found in church at the crack of dawn with a mop. To all who clean brasses and silver.

Thanks too, to all who donate and arrange flowers through the year, coordinated by Sue Jones. Lynn, Lindsay, Margaret, Marilyn, Pam, Viv, Freda, Penny, and Margaret.

Finally to the contractors who have worked in the building this year, especially the team from EG Carter who have constructed the new nave platform, to the amazing Andrew and Jim from APi Communications who have been back again this year working on our AV systems. Dave Blackham has given very freely of his time and resources to help here too. And thanks too to Gary Owens, our organ tuner.

12 Days of Christmas Thank Yous – 5th Day

Posted on by MarkSanderson

5th Day – To all who help us look after our churchyard and the environment.

A big shout out to our wonderful team of Churchyard Angels, who meet on the first Saturday of every month (April – October) to help us keep the church yard tidy.

Thanks also to the Community Payback team who are here every month throughout the year. Also to the army of people who tend graves of loved ones. And thanks to EnviroAbility for their help with wildlife projects and signage. Special thanks to John Setchfield, who manages it spends a good deal of time in the open churchyard, often unnoticed.

We are well supported by our local firms to funeral directors and monumental masons who also take great care of our churchyard. Thanks especially to Abbotsfield, Bevans and to Nigel Cave who is currently repairing, free of charge, a war memorial damage by a falling tree in the recent gales.

Ross  Town Council do a wonderful job of managing the care of the open churchyard and this year used a considerable budget to resurface the very wide path from the Prospect Gates to St Mary’s Hall. Next year they will refurbish the Plague Cross.

Rosie Winyard is our Eco Church and environmental champion. Look out for an extended focus on the Environment in March. We are also grateful to Greg Collier-Jones of Seven Wye Energy Agency who spent some time with us this year looking at ways in which we might work more towards achieving net-zero status, all sponsored by the Church of England.

Harvest 2024

Posted on by MarkSanderson

We’re looking forward to Harvest Festival tomorrow (Sunday 29th September). This year, our Harvest Service will be an all age service for all the churches in the Ross Parishes and will take place at Walford Church, at 9.30am. Parking is available in the church field next to the church. (There’s no 9.30 service in Ross).

If you live in Ross or Brampton Abbotts and need transport to Walford, please let us know and we will organise it for you.

Then at 1.00am we’re having a bring and share Harvest Lunch in St Mary’s Church, Ross-on-Wye. Please book a free place so we can monitor (and if necessarily, limit) places. Please book early to avoid disappointment. Please bring along some food to share with others, there is no charge.

If you’d like to give a harvest gift, which will again be given to the community larder, please bring it along to the lunch in St Mary’s rather than the service in Walford.