Anglican Communion News Service

The session was introduced by Thomas Bair (the husband of the Bishop of Rhode Island, USA, Geralyn Wolf) - the first time a male spouse took the stage in the Spouses’ Conference.

Tom introduced Margaret Sentamu (the wife of the Archbishop of York, England) who said she had been landed with the task of addressing the conference today because she is passionate about vocation. Margaret herself was for many years a selector of clergy on behalf of the Church of England, and is now an HR consultant.

Margaret said she had fallen in love with her husband because he was confident, wise, clever, witty and fun to be with - and he still was today. Little did she know she would end up as the wife of an Archbishop: in fact, since he was a barrister when they married (and was also headhunted by Hollywood) this was not what she expected. “It is just as well we worship a God who keeps these things from us,” she said.

Margaret quoted another bishop’s spouse: Cheryl Herft, who is married to the Archbishop of Perth (Australia). When struggling to bring up her children when her husband was very involved running a successful church, Cheryl was told by her mother that the sooner she accepted that she was merely a concubine, the easier her lot would be, such were the demands of her husband’s calling.

But she was insistent that God calls us as people: the “ragbag assortment of individuals” that make up the Church. “God calls us to work out our own calling,” she said.

After Margaret’s presentation, the conference discussed in groups the effects their partners’ callings had had on their sense of vocation.

The morning concluded with advance information about the London day, including a presentation by Helen Wangusa on the Millennium Development Goals.