MU September Newsletter
posted by: Joan Vine | on: Friday, 1 September 2023, 20:00
September News.
Thoughts from your President, Maxine Paul: Well, I did it! I visited every church where a branch meets and quite a few extra churches where the branch represents more than one parish such as Billericay – 48 in total! And, what a wonderful time I’ve had doing it – meeting members, capturing pictures with banners, finding out about some really interesting churches and hearing about all the wonderful restorations (Rayleigh) and reordering going on... In the process, I think I attended at least 12 cream teas, garden parties or lunches and one branch (Elm Park) even had four banners! I also got to hear about how you run your branches, the sort of support you might need in the future, how you’ve been using the “Transformation – Now!” prayer and seeing hope turned into action at the food hubs and community cafes at two of the churches (Hutton and Highams Park).
There were a few churches where I was unable to meet anyone, but if the churches were open, I still managed a photo with the banner. If I missed you completely, perhaps you could take a photo of yourselves with your banner and pompoms to send me please and book me to come to one of your meetings later in the year.
I raised just over £850 in sponsorship and branches sent us another £600+ raised in other ways for the “Summer of Hope” campaign and it’s possible that more went straight to Mary Sumner House. This will be used by the team there to support dioceses in their work with AFIA, prisons, and parenting. I also made over 200 pompoms to distribute with love and the SoH prayer. Thank you one and all for contributing and making me so welcome wherever I went.
At the side, I have shared a prayer from a little card for the “2020 Year of Cathedrals, Year of Pilgrimage” which I was given at Harlow Common Branch and summed up my little “pilgrimage” around CDMU branches.
I very much enjoyed leading the Mary Sumner Day members’ event at Witham helped by Rev Jane Quinton (Assoc. Priest, Witham & Villages), Rev Stephen Northfield (Witham Deanery Chaplain), Rev Michael Hatchett (Copford Branch Leader) and Curate Noah Cockett – I’m not too sure everyone got quite the same pleasure out of making pompoms as I have done or making St Brigid’s Crosses, though! Thank you to the hosts for making us all so welcome. I also gave a talk about Mothers’ Union at All Saints, Woodford Wells Vintage Lunch as a result of my SoH visit there. So, I have had an August drenched in MU!
Thanks to Merrill, Pauline and team at Billericay who also led a well-attended Mary Sumner Day Service and lunch.
Love and blessings. Maxine x
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