We began the Mothering Sunday weekend by making spring posies to be given out to the congregation at the Sunday service, and also arrangements for the two Care Homes in the village – see photos below.

At the Mothering Sunday service, a Mission Sunday, our Vicar Simon, invited the Mothers’ Union to be the Mission and have the sermon slot to promote the valuable work we do.  Members also welcomed the congregation, did the readings, led intercessions and administered the chalice.   We are fortunate enough to have screens and IT input at the church, so we began our slot by showing the ‘Who we are’ video from the central website and Gill Coombs then shared ‘Mary’s Legacy’ and how the Mothers’ Union came into being.  This was followed by a slide presentation of some of the projects we are engaged in around the world.  Revd. Canon Diane Webster, a member for 50 years and part of the Ministry Team, then explained why being a member is so important to her, and Revd. Simon Newham, our Vicar and a member for around 25 years, told of his experiences of MU in Africa and Rwanda and reiterated how being a member can transform lives.  Posies, together with the Mothers’ Union leaflet ‘Who we are’, a copy of our programme and a letter of invitation to join, were given out before the last hymn.

A retiring collection was taken and the amazing amount of £250.00 cash + a £50 gift voucher was given, all of which went to the Mothering Sunday Gift of Peace appeal – a lifeline for families who are striving to build loving, secure homes for their children.  We also had an approach from four members of the congregation who would like to pay a subscription, even though they might not be able to be too involved with normal branch life, and I’m sure everyone at the service learned so much more about the MU than they knew before.

Despite our name we are an inclusive organisation and we are very proud to have a growing number of men who have joined us.  For more information, visit www.mothersunion.org