I am writing to you following our AGM & Diocesan Council meeting which took place on Saturday 23 rd July 2022 at St John’s Church Centre in Hartford. It was a wonderful meeting, and I was delighted that 65% of our branches were represented.
The Trustees had planned the meeting around this year's theme of Transformation Now and this fed into all of the morning's activities, beginning with the room layout. Instead of members sitting in rows, we had round tables each with its own sunflower table centre. This was just a small transformation but made a huge impact on the atmosphere in the room, everyone loved being able to chat between presentations.
Our opening prayers included a verse from Paul's letter to the Romans 12 v2 "Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing, and perfect will." We reflected on what it means to have a renewing of the mind, or to put another way, a change of mindset . Derek shared a reflection on the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly and you will find his beautiful poem featured later in this magazine. I encourage you to spend some time in prayer reflecting on what a renewing of your mind means to us all as Mothers' Union members.
In my report to council, I was delighted to be able to announce the date for our Commissioning Service which will be held on Tuesday 27 th September at St Mary’s Without-the-Walls, Handbridge in Chester. Our service will be led by our Patron Bishop Mark, and I hope to see many of you there. Please speak to your branch leaders for more detailed information, a flyer has been emailed out to them and a copy is printed in this magazine.
I represented Chester Diocese at the recent Re-imagining Mothers' Union at Liverpool Hope University. Whilst I didn't find the conference particularly inspiring, it was good to meet up with members from around the country and share ideas. Information from the conference will be distributed in the coming months and I hope to share it with you at our next Diocesan Council in November. My next event will be the Annual Gathering in Belfast in September which I am really looking forward to. It is my privilege to represent the members of Chester at these events and I am always willing to share your thoughts and ideas, if you would like me to take any thoughts to Belfast please let me know in the next few weeks. I was very grateful for members who answered my request for help prior to the Re-imagining Mothers' Union conference and gave me items to put on the prayer wall and sent me their three words to describe Mothers' Union. When Dawn collated all these words together the most frequent word to describe us here in Chester was LOVE, I’m sure you will agree that this is what underpins everything we do as Mothers' Union members.
The three presentations given at Diocesan Council on Saturday were interesting, informative and gave us some new ideas and projects for members to get involved with. There are the nominations for inspirational women photograph project where we will bless those nominated at our service in September; the launch of our New Projects and Partnerships Fund; and the Bags of Education project. More details are included in this magazine and if you would like more information speak to your branch leaders, myself, one of the Trustees or Dawn.
After such a positive and uplifting meeting, I am looking forward to the second half of this year and being able to see more members at our Diocesan events.
With love and prayers always,
The Trustees had planned the meeting around this year's theme of Transformation Now and this fed into all of the morning's activities, beginning with the room layout. Instead of members sitting in rows, we had round tables each with its own sunflower table centre. This was just a small transformation but made a huge impact on the atmosphere in the room, everyone loved being able to chat between presentations.
Our opening prayers included a verse from Paul's letter to the Romans 12 v2 "Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing, and perfect will." We reflected on what it means to have a renewing of the mind, or to put another way, a change of mindset . Derek shared a reflection on the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly and you will find his beautiful poem featured later in this magazine. I encourage you to spend some time in prayer reflecting on what a renewing of your mind means to us all as Mothers' Union members.
In my report to council, I was delighted to be able to announce the date for our Commissioning Service which will be held on Tuesday 27 th September at St Mary’s Without-the-Walls, Handbridge in Chester. Our service will be led by our Patron Bishop Mark, and I hope to see many of you there. Please speak to your branch leaders for more detailed information, a flyer has been emailed out to them and a copy is printed in this magazine.
I represented Chester Diocese at the recent Re-imagining Mothers' Union at Liverpool Hope University. Whilst I didn't find the conference particularly inspiring, it was good to meet up with members from around the country and share ideas. Information from the conference will be distributed in the coming months and I hope to share it with you at our next Diocesan Council in November. My next event will be the Annual Gathering in Belfast in September which I am really looking forward to. It is my privilege to represent the members of Chester at these events and I am always willing to share your thoughts and ideas, if you would like me to take any thoughts to Belfast please let me know in the next few weeks. I was very grateful for members who answered my request for help prior to the Re-imagining Mothers' Union conference and gave me items to put on the prayer wall and sent me their three words to describe Mothers' Union. When Dawn collated all these words together the most frequent word to describe us here in Chester was LOVE, I’m sure you will agree that this is what underpins everything we do as Mothers' Union members.
The three presentations given at Diocesan Council on Saturday were interesting, informative and gave us some new ideas and projects for members to get involved with. There are the nominations for inspirational women photograph project where we will bless those nominated at our service in September; the launch of our New Projects and Partnerships Fund; and the Bags of Education project. More details are included in this magazine and if you would like more information speak to your branch leaders, myself, one of the Trustees or Dawn.
After such a positive and uplifting meeting, I am looking forward to the second half of this year and being able to see more members at our Diocesan events.
Wendy