Every year for the period of Lent, it’s traditional for the Archbishop of Canterbury to commission a book to guide people of faith in the period of reflection on the great sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross. The book or study guide is intended for personal study or to spark small group discussion in the lead-up to Easter.

This year, the Archbishop of Canterbury's book, ‘Dancing to the Heartbeat of God’, has collected contributions from across the Anglican Communion. It is the first Lent book commissioned by the new Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally.

Publishers describe the book as ‘a vibrant and inspiring exploration of Christian discipleship in today's world’ that brings together ‘around thirty contributors from across the globe,’ reflecting ‘the breadth, diversity and vitality of the Anglican Communion.’

It is a collection of ‘personal stories, testimonies and reflections,’ that ‘explores what it really means to follow Christ faithfully: listening for God's rhythm, responding with courage and sharing faith with others in authentic and creative ways. Rooted in real experience rather than abstract theory, these voices speak with honesty, energy and hope.’

‘Dancing to the Heartbeat of God’ features a foreword and afterword by the Archbishop of Canterbury, an introduction by the Archbishop of York (the Most Revd and Rt Hon Stephen Cottrell), as well as contributions from the Secretary General (the Rt Revd Anthony Poggo), the Deputy Secretary General of the Anglican Communion (the Rt Revd Dr Jo Bailey Wells) and the Chair of the Anglican Consultative Council (Canon Maggie Swinson).

The Most Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally, the Archbishop of Canterbury

Speaking about the book, the Archbishop of Canterbury said that with ‘authors from across the globe’ this book ‘encapsulates the wonderful diversity across our Communion, but also our unity, through our shared faith and witness. My prayer is that the stories in each chapter of this book will serve as true inspiration and encouragement for you this Lent, and give us all the confidence to go into the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole of creation.’

The Secretary General’s chapter titled ‘Discipleship Stories from the Anglican Communion’ shares insights from his South Sudanese heritage about the Great Commission. Lent is often thought to be a time of self-reflection and in this spirit, Bishop Anthony’s chapter also raised the importance of intentional discipleship and church planting and invites followers of Christ to consider how they live out these things in their faith through Lent and beyond.

Speaking about his contribution, The Secretary General said, ‘In South Sudan, we place great importance on what a person says before he or she dies, and Jesus’ instruction to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” is one of the last things he was recorded to have said before he left this world. Therefore, it is right for us to pay special attention to it.

‘As Secretary General, I experience the privilege to see how Anglican churches around the world respond to this mission through planting seeds, cultivating growth and working for the harvest and how, despite our differences, we can, and do, unite around the Five Marks of Mission.’

‘A Widow’s Might’, the chapter from the Deputy Secretary General and Bishop for Episcopal Ministry in the Anglican Communion, the Rt Revd Dr Jo Bailey Wells, explores the impact of generosity and Jesus’ view of this. Bishop Jo’s chapter outlines a tale of radical generosity she once experienced and tells of the power of giving what we have to God, just as the Widow did in the Gospel of Luke with her two coins.

Reflecting on the diversity and breadth of global representation this year’s Lent book exhibits, she remarked, ‘This book expresses so much that fuels my own discipleship - the sheer variety of 'guises' whereby Jesus is found and followed around the world, in different cultures and contexts today. That stretches me to see the limits of my own experience and cures me of ever thinking any single disciple could capture the height and length and breadth and depth of the love of God. We need one another... because God's love may be found anywhere and yet it out-narrates everywhere.’

Canon Maggie Swinson, Chair of the Anglican Consultative Council, contributed a chapter called ‘Belonging together: discipleship across the Communion’ in which she shares an experience of when she attended her first World Council of Churches Assembly and her understanding of what the Anglican Communion was and what it meant to be Anglican was forever changed and her passion for ecumenism and global Christian unity ignited.

Canon Maggie shares that she ‘was honoured to contribute a reflection to the 2026 Lent Book, particularly as the only lay contributor. I was acutely aware that the Communion is not a lived reality for many people in the Church of England, and I wanted to share how it became one, and continues to be one, for me. I know I have had opportunities that most church members will not have, and I hoped to ground the life of the Communion in the experience of a lay person who has had the privilege of seeing it at work, at its best and at its most human.’

Learn more about ‘Dancing to the Heartbeat of God’, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent book 2026 or find it on Amazon.