Mothers’ Union – Mar ’23
The monthly meeting of St Wilfrid’s Mothers’ Union took place on Thursday, 2 March. Following a communion service in the Church, the members adjourned to the hall for a talk. This was given by Janice Lunn and Yvonne Smith from the Leicestershire diocese. Their talk focused on the projects MU have become involved with during the seventy year reign of Queen Elizabeth II who had been the Patron of the MU organisation.
The talk began with a re-cap of how the MU had come into existence. When Mary Sumner had realised, after giving birth to her first child, that there was little support for mothers. The humble beginnings of MU (in the living room of Mary Sumner’s home in Lancashire) have today expanded into a worldwide organisation represented in eighty-four countries with over four million members worldwide. The MU is a Christian organisation which promotes the well-being of families worldwide.
Other Projects
The MU has been involved with many projects over these years. Some are well known – the ‘Away From It All Holidays’ enabling families who have not been on holiday for three years the opportunity to experience a short break at the seaside- to the ‘Message Home’ project of 1975 which began in Liverpool and enabled runaway children the opportunity to ring a telephone number and leave a message for their family to say they were safe. In 1997 the SCIP (social care in prison) project began. This supported the families of prisoners. In 2010 ‘Bye Buy Childhood’ raised awareness of TV advertising appropriateness for children. The MU have been involved in many projects, too many to list here! But learning (or being reminded) about them was fascinating.
We heard that the MU through its branches and committees can help to formulate opinions and policies on all aspects of family life.
If you would like to join us, our next meeting will take place 6 April. Come along and join us, you will be most welcome. The service begins at 10am in St Wilfrid’s Church.
Leigh Lewis
Rotary Club – March 2023
