From the Archbishop
February 2026
The Most Revd Kay Goldsworthy AO DD, Archbishop
C S Lewis was a prolific writer and, by all accounts, a brilliant academic who taught at both Oxford and Cambridge. As a child, I devoured the Chronicles of Narnia. You may have enjoyed them too – there were something like 100 million copies sold in 41 languages!
Perhaps it’s the passing of many years or that it’s the start of a new year, but more recently it’s two quotes attributed to C S Lewis that have caught my eye. ‘You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream’, is the first. Then, just when you’re contemplating the courage required to set a new goal or dream a new dream, comes the second: ‘There are far, far better things ahead, than any we leave behind’.
Walt Disney takes a more direct, enthusiastic approach – ‘If you can dream it, you can do it’.
And, of course in Matthew 17:20, we read ’Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you’.
On that note, let me wish you and those near and dear to you, a very happy new year.
For the reasons captured in those quotations and more, I really welcome each new year, even if it does seem to come around faster than ever. It is a wonderful time to start afresh, to set goals and be just a little bolder about picturing what could lie ahead.
If your Christmas and New Year were noisy and hectic, as they often are, it’s not too late to take some quiet time to reflect, think, envisage and plan. We can re-boot at any time. Set new goals and aspirations – and lay out our pathway towards achieving them.
There’s a lot to be said for Japanese New Year traditions and I think the spirit of them could be adopted at any time. In Japan, Shogatsu (or Oshogatsu), is an extended New Year season spent in reflection and relaxing with family. It’s preceded by ‘bonenkai parties’ to see the old year out and leave its worries in the past. I love that idea. Another tradition is doing a really serious house-clean so you can have a fresh start to the New Year – literally and figuratively. That’s always less appealing at the time but feels fabulous afterwards.
In Canada, there are the parties, fireworks and celebrations with which we are more familiar, but it’s interesting to learn that, for many First Nations Canadians, New Year is tied to nature and the seasons, and is also a time for reflection, storytelling, connection and rest.
Whatever your past year has been, as we step into February, we have an opportunity to build on what has been good and positive, and to put behind us what has been harmful or hurtful. It can be a time for new beginnings and the time to set a fresh, positive tone for the whole year.
‘Where do I want this year to take me?’ is a great question at the start of the year. ‘How do I want to get there? How do I want to live my life?’ might be important companion questions.
Sometimes life takes us on even better pathways that we had imagined or dreamed because we set goals that answered the ‘How’ questions as well as the ‘Where’.
February might be a really good time to decide or refresh aspirations for this year, and it’s not too late for this Prayer for the New Year written by The Very Revd Andrew Nunn SCP, the former Dean of Southwark Cathedral:
And the one who was seated on the throne said ‘See, I am making all things new.’ (Revelation 21.5)
God of new beginnings,
of hope and deliverance,
dawn us with fresh opportunities,
equip us for new tasks,
fill us with eager longing,
thrill us with fresh starts,
that with the past behind us
we may look to all that lies ahead
with faith in Jesus
hope in you
and love for all. Amen.