Eden Speaks to Rachel Mann About Her New Lent Bible Study Based On The Movie Wicked - Ideal For Groups This 2026 Lent.
My ‘day job’ is as Archdeacon of Salford and Bolton in Manchester Diocese. It’s a fascinating and demanding role that requires a lot of attention to both the pastoral and the legal. Much of my work focusses on strategy, especially around clergy appointments and looking after the many amazing church buildings in the diocese. So often Archdeacons are seen as the bad guys, the enforcers, but I try to be kind and compassionate. I’d rather be like Elphaba than Madame Morrible, but I fear that sometimes my role makes me more like the latter! In terms of my favourite Wicked song… I adore I’m Not That Girl, but it’s a toss up between Defying Gravity and For Good. If I’m having a bad day, I will always go with Defying Gravity.
Some of the books have been commissioned and others have been chosen by me. I will always have a soft spot for ‘From Now On’, based on The Greatest Showman, but unsurprisingly I’m currently in love with ‘Gravity Defied’.
Yes, I appreciate that witches and magic will be a bit scary or off-putting for some, but the themes of Wicked run so deep. It’s the story of a scapegoated outsider (Elphaba) who discovers she has this extraordinary gift which enables her to stand up to a tyrannical, inconsistent and populist leader (the Wizard of Oz). It really is a story for our times. Its themes of self-sacrifice, goodness vs wickedness, the temptations to be popular and the cost of living authentically are rich, timeless Christian themes for Lent.
Yes, to both. I want the course to be open-hearted and invitational and relatable for all ages. I really believe this is a course you could invite a non-Christian friend to. As someone who became a Christian as an adult I’m always aware of how difficult it can be to enter ‘Christian spaces’. I want to take away the stress. I think a course like this one on Wicked can do that.
A richer sense of the way God can be encountered through different media and a fresh excitement about their faith. God is alive in this world, including in movies and art. I hope this course will give a reader a fresh perspective on this truth and on their faith and the faith of others.
Because I live with something called intestinal failure I can’t usually give up food or alcohol. The range of foods I can eat is already so limited. So I prefer to take something on. I do like to read a book, often something structured through the forty days of Lent, where I can attend to a passage each day. I do miss being part of small groups during Lent (my role tends to get in the way of that!).
Goodness. I loved The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe as a child. It taught me that self-sacrifice always trumps selfishness. As an adult, I was hugely influenced by Michael Ramsey’s The Christian Priest Today. It has helped me be a kinder, more thoughtful priest.
These are excellent questions! I’d love to write with St John … he would blow my mind. St John’s Gospel is just so remarkable.
I must admit, being able to write about Wicked is a dream come true. I’ve seen the stage show 14 times so I’m a big fan! I’d love to write about A Room With A View, though. I’ve watched it the best part of 100 times, though that isn’t that surprising for me. When I love a film I tend to watch it obsessively and learn every aspect of it. It is, for me, an example of one of my autistic superpowers.
I do have a couple of book projects brewing - a third poetry collection as well as a memoir on my experience of digestive failure. In terms of socials, I’ve dialed down my use in recent years. You can find me on BlueSky and Insta though. As for a sequel to Gravity Defied … I’d love to do it …
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