Mothers’ Union Matters in the Diocese of Chester Summer 2014

Some of the members who attended the annual Diocesan Service in Chester Cathedral in May. A report is on page 8 Inside this issue: A 9 year-old’s view of MU p.5 Hand in Hand Day p.10 Parenting courses in Weaverham P.13-14

Lots more information on - Our Diocesan website www.mothersunionchester.co.uk Or the main Mothers’ Union website www.mothersunion.org .

Congratulations around the Diocese

Left and below Is this the first time that two members have been married to each other by a third member? Rev Colin Rookwood was married to Mrs Stepha- nie Grimshaw by Rev Steve Rankin on 29th March 2014. All three are members of the St Mary Magdalene, Ashton on Mersey Branch. The wedding was at St Mary Magdalene Church and the reception was at Quarry Bank Mill, Styal. Barbara Shimmings Branch Leader

Right Mary Wright, a member of St Mary Magdalene Mother’s Union in Sale for nearly 60 years, was honoured at the group’s AGM. The 82 -year-old was presented with a special certificate by the vicar, the Rev Steve Rankin. Mary, of Oakfield, Sale, has been attending group meetings for 56 years and she said: “I actually attended two years before that. My son was 18 months old and every time Left the vicar started to speak, he joined in. So I stopped Norbury Mothers' Union Evening th going and then came back again later.” Group celebrated their 60 Anni- versary with a Family Commun- ion Service in March. A baptism helped to make it a truly family occasion. It was also Mothering Sunday so all the congregation left wearing lovely daffodil button- holes, some of which were spotted on graves in the churchyard later. Four new members were enrolled. After the service, the Anniversary cake was cut by three founder members. The Archdeaconry Presi- dent, Wendy Sykes, then presented Long Service Certificates to the founder members and 3 others.

From the Diocesan President

There are a few changes happening in Mothers’ Union as we move forward in caring for families and communities across the world. The central Trustees have decided that our linked dioceses are to be changed to give greater geographical diversity. There are 100 dioceses who do not have links and so need to be incorporated into our worldwide Wave of Prayer. We shall know in the next few months who our new links will be. This will give us an opportunity to build relationships and prayer support with new areas.

Another change that we have agreed this year is in our committee structures. As membership decreases it becomes increasingly more difficult to fill posts so we have simplified our Deanery committees. They will still have a Deanery Leader, Secretary and Treasurer, but will only have three unit reps: Action & Outreach (covering both worldwide and social concern); Faith & Policy (covering Prayer, Indoor members and Social Policy); Fundraising and Communications (covering Promotions and MU Enterprises). This will streamline our structures and has already been adopted successfully by these three Diocesan Unit Committees.

On the 10th May I was invited to the 65th Anniversary of our linked diocese Glasgow and Galloway in Dumfries. As we shall be losing that link, it was good to celebrate with them. Ann Glenesk, their Diocesan President, does a lot of work in the field of domestic abuse and wrote an excellent article in Jan/ Feb 2014 edition of Families First entitled ‘Breaking the silence of domestic abuse’. In picture L to R: Worldwide President, Lynne Tembey (who planted the tree); Olu Akitoye from their linked diocese in Lagos and Ann Glenesk

In the July/Aug 2014 issue of “Families First” Jeanette has written a good article on our Virtual Baby projects entitled ‘Mum for a weekend’. Please read it and show it to your friends. The forms for Families First are being distributed. It is very relevant to today’s families and an excellent tool for attracting new members. Make sure you order your copy and perhaps get extra copies for new members or supporters of Mothers’ Union.

I look forward to seeing you all at our Family Fun Day in Chester Cathedral Gardens 11.30-3.30 on Sat 12th July. Come and fly the flag!

With my love and prayers to you and your families.

Angela Tel 0151 336 6312 e-mail [email protected] Some Unit Reports

Holiday Fund (AFIA) thing Monday morning and the information downloaded. The last session involves every- After a review of the food parcels it has been one again and marks are given out along with a decided to leave out cleaning materials etc. The certificate. amount spent on the food and the contents We have had a few boys take part, but should be standardised as some deaneries went mostly girls. Results vary greatly. One girl was a little mad last year with their generosity! We in tears when she had to give the baby back; most say they found it tiring and agree they are think £25 for food and £5 for perishables. Some not yet ready to care for a baby. Around 200 discretion needs to be used regarding the size of students will have been involved in the project the family e.g..a couple and toddler won't need since it started. as much as a family with 2 or 3 children. We are giving families travelling by train Tesco The 5 babies have recently needed vouchers, because the parcels taken by Sally overhauling at Life Choices, Bromborough, last year didn't reach the recipients until their costing £700 return home. As an extra, we are going to in- (More information in Jeanette Appleton’s report clude colouring books and crayons for the chil- in this issue of Families First) dren. We intend to enclose one of Helen's leaflets about MU and an MU carrier bag in the food Worldwide Report parcel. We will also give one of these leaflets to (Taken from a recent newsletter from referrers. Christian Hope International.) We have now carranged 12 Holidays with two Members of Mothers Union in Kigeme di- more applications still to come in, at a cost to ocese in Rwanda are the facilitators through date of £4989.66. 9 requests are from the Ches- which C.H.I. provide financial assistance to ter Diocese , 3 from and three of women in their diocese. A small, interest-free which have come from Vicars loan is made to the MU group who are collec- There are 16 adults & 29 children in tota , some tively responsible for the repayment. They, in are receiving food parcels. Others are receiving turn, select the members in greatest need to Tesco Vouchers if they are going by train. benefit from a loan. The diocese provides train- They are all very excited at going on holiday ing in money management, animal care and ag- riculture to ensure greatest return on the invest- Virtual babies ment. An example given was that of Mrs. Clementine Uwamahoro who used her loan to The first school visit is an introductory session purchase a cow which produces enough manure to the whole class, explaining who we are and left to sell, thus enabling her to pay for other what we hope to achieve as well as demonstrat- basic needs. Other members of the Gorwe MU ing the babies and exploring baby care issues. group have also been given manure to assist The next 4 sessions involve 5 students who will them with the cultivation of their land. The each take a baby home over the weekend. They cow is now in calf and will eventually provide check and sign for all the baby equipment and milk for her family. She could then keep the there is further discussion about baby care. calf, pass it on or sell it. They are asked to fill in a diary over the week- end and there is a help line available for emer- gencies. The babies are returned to school first Could Natalie be our youngest Associate member ?

Nine year old Natalie Breeze, who is a regular member of the team at Cool Church and Tues- day Club, St. Oswald's, Brereton, is supporting Mother's Union with her mum Debs. Instead of midday prayers, when Natalie is at school and Debs at work, they use their Families Worldwide for breakfast time prayers. Natalie recently gave a small powerpoint presenta- tion to the Cool Church congregation for the little branch in Brereton and is keen to help with the World Wide Display on Parenting in Chester Cathedral in July. We are really de- lighted to have Natalie's support - could this be the beginning of a junior MU?

Ann Peach

Natalie's presentation, with beautifully illustrat- ed slides, contained the following text:

The Goals :Supporting Families in Faith

Supporting Family life: Helping those facing problems

The Vision: A world where God’s love is shown through loving, respectful, and healthy relationships. Members: There are over 4 million members in 83 countries around the world

The Mission: We aim to help communities all over the world. We can do this through helping and assisting to create stable marriages, family life and with the protection of children

The Results: Mothers’ Union brings...... HOPE into the world for many families facing poverty

(Reproduced with Natalie and her parents‘ permission An excellent précis of all that MU stands for! Ed. )

From the Editor Copy for the next edition should be with the Editor, Judith Dewdney, by 18th October 2014 30 Henbury Rise, Henbury, Macclesfield SK11 9NW Social concern report

Knitting I am still receiving requests for knitting patterns and new knit and chat groups have started up. I have sent several more parcels out to the charities and have found another small charity which is based in Basingstoke and supports a group of midwives working in Uganda. They have been very grateful for the hats and jumpers we have sent and the midwives are in constant touch, sending photos of the babies and their Mums. It is really gratifying to see just where our items are being put to good use. I am hoping to have some more updated patterns availa- ble for the June council meeting. Knitters across the UK are helping communities both at home and abroad and C.H.I. expressed their thanks to all, asking members to continue to support them in this way. Last year over 500 deliveries of kitting had been made to the warehouse.

Fiddle Pinnies

I delivered some to a home in Middlewich and have another batch ready for delivery next week to another home. A picture of the two members of staff who received the first batch was posted on Facebook – this generated some more interest and so too did the picture of the pinnie which Congleton brought to Committee Day. More people are now on board making and dis- tributing the pinnies throughout the Diocese and I have sent samples out to several more mem- bers.

Bridge Foyer

Although there is still doubt about the future of the Unit, Janet has been busy visiting Branch- es to talk about the work they do there and encouraging people to sponsor boxes of items which are given to the young people when they eventually leave Bridge Foyer and move into their own accommodation. Frodsham and Helsby have sponsored boxes of cleaning materials etc. and St. Luke’s, Winnington have provided 3 kitchen boxes which each contain a set of saucepans, 2 mugs, vegetable peeler and can opener. Janet has also told me that without the food and other items provided by Mothers’ Union members, they would not be able to offer the support they do to these very vulnerable young people, more and more of them are coming to Bridge Foyer aged just 16 whereas, in previous years, the age range has been more over 18’s.

Joan Colwell

WE NEED YOU! Do all members subscribe to Families First? 100% of the profits go straight back to fund the work of MU. Subscriptions are declining and we need your help! DON’T FORGET Our big event for 2104—make a note of the date!

WITH LOTS OF FUN AND GAMES IN CHESTER CATHEDRAL GROUNDS

FREE ADMISSION

BRING A PICNIC

CHILDREN MUST BE SUPERVISED BY PARENTS OR CARERS

Fund Raising and Communication report We would like to thank the Editor of CDN for inserting the Family Fun Day feature in the Diocesan News leaflet which gives us access to all churches in the Diocese. We are pleased that we are now more likely to be mentioned in CDN in the future. Please make a note of the Family Fun Day and come along with children, grandchildren, (or even great grandchildren! ) Deaneries and Branches, can you please check that you have every- thing you need for the stands etc. Advertising and revenue Our MU enterprise reps are hard at work all year round—not just at Christmas and Easter- don’t forget that everything you order via them benefits our Diocese with the 10% annual re- fund on all that we purchase from MSH. The website and MUM reach a wide audience, so reports in good time to promote events, pho- tos and the results afterwards do make a difference, they can inspire others to hold a variety of find raising events in their areas. Finally, Families First is a great way to promote MU, so encouragement to take up and circula- tion in deaneries is another way of adding to our membership. Ed, from information supplied by Jan Birch 2014 Diocesan Festival

Above The Macclesfield Archdeaconry banners were paraded this year.

Left The beautiful pennants reminding us of our current links with Dioceses in Africa.

“Sowing the Future Together “ - this year’s theme - was used to give a focus for our thoughts at this year’s Service, with the idea that we are all part of a huge building . Each of us is like a brick, supporting all the other bricks around it. Without our individual aid, whether it be at the top, centre or base of that building, the building would not be the same – we have to “stand faithfully at the right place” as the opening reflection - a poem by Michel Quoist - eloquently said. This theme was rein- forced in the Bible readings, which concerned the Israelites being forced to make bricks with inadequate supplies and the references to Christ, the stone that the builders rejected, becoming our cornerstone. This was all ech- oed in Bishop Peter’s address to the congre- gation. Above Flowers There were 350 communicants at Communion welcomed us and of £922.90 (plus Gift Aid) into the was taken for the Worldwide Fund Cathedral Faith & Policy Unit Report

Committee Day Eleven members attended the F & P Committee Day meeting. Our Worldwide Links Rep was unable to attend. Most members said they were able to complete their Wave of Prayer together in a service. The new Structure was discussed. Current vacancies include Social Policy Chairman and Prayer Chairman. Regarding the Prayer Chain, an updated list of Prayer Chain members was distributed, also an updated list of names being prayed for. Thanks were recorded to Susan Brown from Chadkirk and to Alma Cervi from Mottram who had retired from the Prayer Chain. We currently cover 10 of the 18 Deaneries. Prayer Chain information, plus names, was also sent by post to members as transfer by e-mails is not encouraged. For the Family Day we are hoping to organise prayer stations (available at limited times of the day) or maybe a prayer tree. Helen Palmer, the Education Officer at the Cathedral ,will be contacted about this. Pilgrimage 2015 13-16th July This will be to Rydal Hall n Ambleside as was advertised . A 49- seater coach (as for Wydale) has been booked at a cost of £1,790 with Walkers Coaches. I will send information to those who came to Wydale who are not currently on our list, to make sure they know they have to register early if they want to come. Numbers and a deposit a year in advance (this July) is a requirement of the booking. We would hope to get 30-40 if possible.

Other Activities Retreat at Foxhill (depending on interest)- provisional dates: 28-30th October The Advent Services will not be held this year. Derek Buckthorpe

Wedding Fairs

This project is reaching out to events which have a total footfall of over 14,000 people. I have been contacted by the Archant bridge magazine to assist them in contacting other dioceses in the York Province, so that Church of England stands are part of many of their wedding fairs.

We have been given a definite assurance of stands at two of the wedding fairs this autumn. (see below) This has enabled us to plan for these events in terms of recruit- ing volunteers as well as allocating sufficient resources. There are enough leaflets for the re- maining fairs in 2014 but the leaflets for 2015 need to be purchased in time for the Thornton Hall fair in early January and the major event of the year at Tatton at the end of January. Jean- ette would appreciate an update of the funds donated for this project to date as well as any fur- ther donations by branches and deaneries at the end of the year. 21st September Shrigley Hall Macclesfield deanery 5th October Thornton Hall Wirral deaneries The Mothers’ Union members who participated in the Wedding Fair project this year have all said how much they have enjoyed being part of this project. . Jeanette Appleton Hand in Hand Day - Enjoying Faith as a Family

Exploring God, faith and spirituality with our children and grandchildren can seem like a very difficult task, so it was an opportunity too good to miss for Mothers’ Union members, clergy and pastoral workers from the diocese to get together on the last Saturday in March at St John’s Church Centre in Hartford to experience what the Mothers’ Union resource ‘Hand in Hand’ has to offer..

Catherine Kyte, our Faith Support Officer Above Hands on concentration ! at Mary Sumner House, offered us ways to connect with a loving God, for making time and space to be in each other’s company as a family and with God, to explore the Bible and to pray together and to share the wonder of life in good times and bad.

The day was challenging, but fun, offering us time for reflection and questions as well as thought-provoking activities and group work. It encouraged us to embark on an amazing journey and enjoy finding and developing faith as a family.

Above Catherine Kyte prepares to throw the “Prayer Ball” Right A creative activity

Welcome To Our New Members

St Mary Magdalene, Sale Norbury Evening Group Rev Jane Beaumont, Tina Garton Linda English, Virginia Key, Rev Colin Rookwood (retd), Ian Thwaites Jenny Mayo-Lythall and .Joanne Whinder

Odd Rode St James, Gatley Susan Mair, Pat Billeeness, Revd. Philip Shirley Norbury Atkinson, Barbara Bailey, and Jean Forster St. Peter, Little Budworth. St Stephen & St Alban, Prenton, Wirral Katie Pearce. Rev Heather Buckley

St Cross, Knutsford Revd. Trish Cope, Mrs Kathleen Cottier.

Helsby Mothers’ Union “goes West “ On 23rd May, twelve ladies, mostly from Helsby Mothers’ Union, set off for Paignton in Devon. At times the coach passed through heavy rain, but the countryside was at its best at this time of year. Nine hours later we arrived, and were warmly welcomed by the staff at the hotel. Entertainment was provided each evening and the ladies all participated. The following day we went our separate ways and my companion and I went to Buckfast Abbey. ( 2 miles as the crow flies from where I was born and brought up….. ! Ed) The Abbey was founded nearly 1,000 years ago and stood for 500 years before Henry V111 ordered it to be demolished. Monks returned in 1882 and rebuilt the Abbey on its mediaeval foundation. They completed the task in 1938. We enjoyed the buildings, gardens and the monks’ hospitality in the Grange Restaurant. (There were originally 5 monks from Germany who began the task of rebuilding by themselves, and although their numbers only slowly in- creased, they did not bring in local craftsmen – including my father - except when absolute- ly necessary. Ed.) The following day we went by train from Paignton to Dartmouth. At Kingswear we crossed over on the ferry to Dartmouth. In the days when trains went through from Crewe to Kingswear, your ticket went right on through to Dartmouth. It is the only station in Britain which has never had a train! Later we were collected and driven through some lovely coun- tryside before returning to Totnes and thence to the hotel in Paignton. Our last trip was to Teignmouth. It was a good holiday; we gained new insights into another part of the country, met new people, got to know our friends better and returned safely home. The Helsby Branch has been going on holidays together for about 20 years, their first one being to the Lake District. The two members who arranged that first venture, Doreen Shire and June Reynard, were on this latest excursion. What better advertisement could you have for such expeditions! Gillian Gilbert Branch Leader.

On June 7th they held a Garden Party to raise funds for The Holiday Fund, so that others might enjoy the benefits of a break away, raising £460.20. (Ed) MUsings from Our Diocesan Chaplain

“Summer time but the living ain’t necessarily easy Fish stocks are low and the harvest has failed; Daddy’s not rich and your mother is going away. So cry baby, cry.”

It is, I’m afraid, fairly easy to ruin a good song in the light of the dire news that floods the television pictures at the moment. And here I am, usually a happy and joyful sort of person, bemoaning the tragedy of the Middle East (again). My neighbours are from Pakistan and news there is also miserable. Daily Bible readings though remind me that the world is often at war but the one who holds on to God is given a different view of things: The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid? It’s worth having a look at these two passages Psalm 27 and 2 Samuel 22 to see what I mean. Then comes the good news of Jesus and the movement towards the establishment of God’s kingdom takes precedence over “anything else in all creation” because there lies the heart of love and restoration. Our task as Christians, and here members of the Mothers’ Union are in a particular position of fortitude, is to persevere in our beliefs in Jesus as the one saviour of the world and make acts of love and kindness witness well in the dark and difficult places. The Holy Spirit is at work in us.

Strength comes from our sense of fellowship and community because we know we are not left on our own. Our Father is rich and the church is definitely not going away! But note how Jesus reveals himself in poverty by what we might call the world’s standards and the church is often seen in retreat or perhaps in exile, waiting and longing for the homecoming. That is when our thoughts of heaven-life unite with our earthly-life. Saint Paul drives home this desire to delight in God rather than being totally distracted by enmity (Euodia and Syntache were not getting on with one another!): Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. Letter to Christians living in Philippi 4.8. It’s from the misery that God helps us see better things and the healing that must take place. The Mothers’ Union has a calling to promote the good news in parish work and further afield. May this summer bring you good times of prayer and service in all the places you find yourselves in.

With love and prayers james Parenting Courses in Weaverham

We all know that new babies, our most precious and complicated creations, come without any “instructions”. Society today is putting more and more pressure on children and their parents in so many ways and few parents are lucky enough to live close enough to their wider family group for the support and advice which was commonplace a generation ago. There is also a sense in which ‘Parenting’ is in the spotlight as we all struggle to cope with the major changes and confusions of 21st century life. No one reading this article will be in any doubt about the im- portance of good parents for happy and successful families and individuals. Our Mothers’ Union parenting groups are always very highly regarded by those who attend and the ‘evaluation’ comments below show that there have been real benefits:

“The programme has helped me focus more on the children and not day to day chores” “I’ve seen that I’m the same as other mums and not a ‘rubbish’ mum” “It helped me to reflect on feelings – mine and the children’s” “I’ve really enjoyed the discussions with the other participants and course leaders. The programme was really well run - informal but structured” “I would recommend this course to anyone” “Taking time to think and talk through experiences, learning from others and looking at things from other view points was very helpful”…..and there are many more

All those who took part were keen to learn and willing to make changes. They all commented on fewer tantrums, whingeing, squabbling. Remarks were made about more time to enjoy the children, listen to them and watch them play. Parents realise that they can allow greater choices; give more freedom and also the opportunity for children to understand the consequences of their decisions and actions. All the participants commented on how enjoyable the sessions were and that the interactions with other parents in a safe, non judgemental and mutually supportive environment were of particular value.

Good ‘background organisation’ is vital. Up to eight participants is ideal and if the group is to be run in the daytime there needs to be a crèche available. Evening groups enable dads to attend or even couples. Someone to help with refreshments saves the group time. All sorts of practicalities can be overcome with the support of a good team and here special thanks go to the Rev. Jenny Brown and her wonderful helpers whose hard work has ensured that the three groups at Weaver- ham have run smoothly and been very enjoyable. Continued overleaf Parenting Courses continued….

There are many courses available including those of The Family Caring Trust and ‘Positive Par- enting’ which are often used by our Facilitators in Chester Diocese. Programmes are tailored for specific age ranges e.g. Babies and Toddlers, pre –school, primary school years and the teenage years. We have 17 fully qualified Parenting Facilitators in this diocese and according to Jeannette Appleton’s figures from MSH, we are the most successful diocese in the number of groups run per trained leader.

The groups offered by MU should be oversubscribed!! They are free, well run by enthusiastic, committed and qualified volunteers and we know that they make a difference for good. Please do spread the news and, even better, offer to help make a parenting group possible for parents in your church or neighbourhood! Even “good” parents really benefit from these groups. Ann Peach

Diocesan Notice Board The Mothers’ Union Office, 9 Abbey Square, Chester, CH1 2HU

Opening hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 10.30 am to 2.30 pm Tel: 01244 400491 Email: [email protected] Chester Website www.mothersunionchester.co.uk Central website www.mothersunion.org

Calendar 2014 Theme: Sowing the future together

Sa 12 July 11.30 – 3.30 Family Fun Day in Cathedral Gardens

21-23 Jul A&O Conference at Swanwick.

Sa 9 Aug Mary Sumner Day - Day of prayer

Tu 16-We 17 Sep MUE conference at Swanwick

Tu 16-Th 18 Sep F&CS and F&C Conferences at Swanwick

Tu 23 Sept 10am Trustees Meeting at Church House

25-27 Oct Retreat depending on interest

Th 6 Nov 10am Trustees Meeting at Church House

Tu 18 Nov 10.00 – 1pm Diocesan Council at Hartford Church Centre .. More activities from the Diocese

Left Some members of All Saint’s

Marple putting daffodils in bunches for Mothering Sunday.

Above St James Gatley’s offering of stationery items for the collection for Melanesia. This was multiplied many times by other Diocesan Branches and 16 large boxes are on their way to help provide the materials needed to begin a Literacy Group on the islands.

Above Holy Trinity held a cele- bratory Service to mark their 90th birthday. Here Angela Klabou helps Branch Leader Doris Turner cut their cake.

Right St John, Sandiway celebrated with their long- est serving member, Mrs Dorothy Naden who was enrolled 60 years ago. The photograph was taken at the “Churches Together” Pancake Day event, held after their meeting. Joining in with other Church events helps promote the work of MU. Does belonging to MU increase life expectancy?

Left With a combined age of 279 years, Miriam, Marjorie and Joan are a great example of the benefits if MU membership, as they help our Diocesan President, Angela cut the cake at St Wilfrid, Davenham’s 110th birthday celebrations in May.

Right Congratulations were in order for Hazel Highton a branch member of St Philip, Alderley Edge. Hazel celebrated her 90th Birthday, 66th Wedding Anniversary and 50th Anniversary as a Mothers Union member all in the space of 6 weeks! Over the years Hazel has served on Branch and Deanery Committees in several capacities including 17 years as Treasurer of both. On Mothering Sunday Hazel cut the cake made for her by fellow member, Elaine Ockelton.

Left Kathleen Featherby cuts her 90th birthday cake in March, during St George Altrincham’s celebration of Lady Day. This takes the form of a meal, which this year was at Aspire restaurant, Trafford College.