Sharing coffee and cake

This year, for the St Richard’s Mothers’ Union outreach, we invited members of the congregation from each of our three Churches in Heathfield Benefice, to share coffee and home made cakes followed by a very interesting talk from Christine Emson, former MU President in the Diocese of Chichester.

Chris prefaced her talk by asking the question, ‘Is Mothers Union as relevant today as when it was founded by Mary Sumner in 1876?’

Chris talked enthusiastically about the work of the Mothers’ Union, both globally and locally, reminding us that we are a movement of over four million Christians in 84 countries. She explained how the Central Trustee Members, are lobbying the United Nations to promote gender equality and to bring an end to domestic abuse. How local members globally particularly in the continent of Africa, are running programmes to raise good health awareness and to help women to improve their life skills by setting up cottage industries to support their families.
 

Much closer to home, Chris talked about some of the projects being undertaken by branches here in Sussex, including her own branch in Rye. One in particular is support for parents whilst their prematurely born babies are in hospital. Members are knitting tiny doll sized cardigans and hats and providing what has become known as the ‘Ministry of Cake’ - sharing home baked cakes with the parents whilst providing a listening ear about their concerns. Both the ‘cakes and listening ears’ have been so gratefully received and her branch are now also providing simple dishes, such as macaroni cheese, that can be heated up in a microwave to enable parents coming straight from work to have bite to eat. At the Conquest hospital, the unit’s Matron considers the MU are now part of the special baby care team and they have been invited to be present at a forthcoming NHS Inspection. 

Chris told us how Contact Centres enable children of separated families to spend time with their non-resident parent or significant family member. Our diocese runs one in Eastbourne, and she recounted one heart rending case, where an estranged father, who had not seen his daughter for nine years, was finally able to meet her there,  - tears were shed by all, including the father, as he expressed his gratitude to the MU!
 
She assured us how important the MU support is for the two seaside caravans we own at Selsey and Winchelsea , to provide free accommodation for ‘Away From It All’ holidays for families who are experiencing stress and how one child said it ‘was the first time he had seen the sea’. She also mention how MU Parenting Courses help parents to do the most important job in the world, supporting them to bring up their children in today’s fast changing hi-tech world. 

Finally, she reminded us that prayer underpins all this and referenced our daily prayer diaries. She reassured us that however small or simple a project we are involved in, individual MU Branches are providing Christian care and support to their local families which is just as important as the work being carried on a larger global scale.
 
She concluded by repeating the question – ‘Is Mothers Union as relevant today?’- from the nods around the group, we all thought so. 

Nora Millward, St Richard’s Mothers’ Union 

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