The Hannah Project

What happened to January?

Greetings to everyone visiting our website

We trust you will find what you are looking for here but welcome personal enquiries where you find us lacking!

What you find on this website will be a glimpse into the faithfulness of those Christians who express their faith through Mothers’ Union.

These pages are largely intended to keep our members up to date and informed about Mothers’ Union events and activities mostly within the diocese of Salisbury.   If you are a member we hope you will find material to encourage you in your membership.  Otherwise we hope you will want to ask more about Mothers’ Union.

CURRENT ACTIVITIES

FEBRUARY

Our Policy work in Mothers’ Union is always a high priority.  It encourages us to be in touch with what is happening in our society, in order that we might prayerfully contribute to the debate and actively participate in consultation documents.

Policy Watch  is available monthly online: http://www.themothersunion.org/policy.aspx 

You will find plenty there to occupy a branch meeting.

Also available are discussion papers on the following subjects:

Marriage or Cohabitation, Euthanasia, Abortion, Fair Trade & Trade Justice, Infertility – A Christian Perspective and Supporting Families.   We need never be short of material or prayer opportunities . 

Our Policy work in Mothers’ Union is always a high priority.  It encourages us to be in touch with what is happening in our society, in order that we might prayerfully contribute to the debate and actively participate in consultation documents.

The Christian Gospel is full of political implications. Two core themes in the Bible are caring for God's world and caring for others. Policy work enables us to put such Gospel values into practice by working towards justice, compassion and reconciliation. The challenge of engaging with the real issues that make up the political landscape cannot be ignored by people of faith. By living out Christ's teaching and mission in this way, we bring about his kingdom on earth.

The Government has launched a consultation on whether it should make some changes to the way it defines ‘domestic violence’, and whether there is a consistent understanding of the definition across all government departments. We will be sending in a response to this consultation and would like your opinions. Please find attached [click] a briefing on the proposals plus the 10 short questions. If you are able to take part, please answer any questions you can but don’t feel obliged to answer any you are unsure about.  

Policy Watch  is available monthly online: http://www.themothersunion.org/policy.aspx 

You will find plenty there to occupy a meeting and use to encourage other Christians to think about ways in which to engage with changes happening in our society .

Also available are discussion papers on the following subjects:

Marriage or Cohabitation, Euthanasia, Abortion, Fair Trade & Trade Justice, Infertility – A Christian Perspective and Supporting Families.   We need never be short of material or prayer opportunities . 

Please contact Gillian Mackenzie (01722 711747)   if you want help with any of these issues.

This campaign to ensure’ stable conditions in 

society favourable to family life and the protection 

of children’ continues. Please check the website

 www.byebuychildhood.org for latest news and responses.

The report,  Letting Children be Children, produced as a result of the Bailey review on the Commercialisation and Sexualisation of Childhood is available on line.

There have been many encouraging outcomes as a result of this report.

Please direct families, church children’s group leaders and schools www.parentport.co.uk  - a one stop site where anyone can register a complaint about inappropriate material for children observed in any media.

Please [click] here for a document to help your involvement in this issue NOW

Mothers' Union is working through a grassroots membership of 4 million people to support families and communities around the world.

This Mothering Sunday, as you remember your mother, we are asking you do something a little different. Instead of flowers or a box of chocolates why not buy her an ethical gift that will support another mother? Will you give an ethical gift this Mothering Sunday and change a life?

Whatever gift you choose you can know that it will be funding our work in some of the world's most deprived communities. Each gift represents part of the cost crucial to running a Mothers' Union project. A gift, however small, can make a real difference to a mother's life.

Members:  please make sure your copies of the catalogue are placed in the hands of those who might use them.  Thank you.

The Global Village Fair   

Global Village Fair is Mothers' Union's ethical gifts project. Using this website you can choose from a range of ethical gifts for any occasion. Whether in memory of somebody, as a birthday present or for a wedding gift, your purchase will be helping families around the world in tough circumstances by supporting the work of Mothers' Union.

www.theglobalvillagefair.org

The work of Mothers’ Union can be  supported by shopping online. STOP and have a look at the catalogue NOW. 

                                        http://www.musite.org/shop/   

Please remember to mention ‘Salisbury’ Diocese on your order form to ensure this diocese receives our share of the profit related grant!

Cards, books, gifts as well as Mothers’ Union items

We keep a small amount of stock in the Mothers’ Union Office in Salisbury.  This is currently managed by June Watt who is experiencing some ill health and would like to pass on her knowledge of the role to a successor.

 This involves managing and ordering stock for the shop and keeping the simple accounts for this work.    Someone resident close to Salisbury would be ideal for fulfilling this role.   We are encouraged by the increasing number of members and branches that are ordering online.  Don’t forget to tick the ‘Salisbury’ box, please.

    Please ask yourself if you could do this task (which could perhaps be shared)    

Still on shopping…members will now have copies of the Make a Mother's Day brochure

How about asking church leaders to make these available to the whole congregation?

Families First  is a marvellous resource and read for members and non-members alike.  It is packed full of stimulating articles inviting us to become aware of other people’s lives and issues that even where we have no personal experience we can be led to pray. If, as a member, you find it difficult to afford this publication, then perhaps someone will subscribe to it for you as a gift – maybe at Christmas or for a birthday. 

Each of our copies can be shared with others in our communities as a witness and a help.

This magazine makes a marvellous gift for baptism families and families new to church.  It covers a wide range of issues relating to family life and is also suitable for people beginning to explore the Christian faith.  

Please SHOW & SHARE your copy with church leaders and others.

The current issue focuses on marriage

This movement aims at encouraging, promoting and supporting marriage, and is also an opportunity to say to the wider world that marriage matters. Events are taking place both nationally and locally, and dioceses and churches are encouraged to give their support.

Groups of members will be promoting marriage – look out for an event near you – or even quickly put something together.

Praying for couples getting married in your church and community this year and letting them know this will be a real encouragement to them.

Good News Stories: remember the booklet from earlier this year? Well more encouraging clergy and parishes around marriage support and preparation.  Volunteers are engaging with the Virtual Baby Project as a result of the Exmouth AFIA Holiday.  Parenting Group Leaders are being really creative in their presentations giving many opportunities for further work and younger members contacted at the Moors Valley family event in July are being encouraged in their ministry in Mothers’ Union.  Having worked with a group of  Lay Pastoral Assistants in October we are beginning to see opportunities of working together on baptism follow-up using the ‘Hand in Hand’ resource and the excellent series of handouts available on the MU website http://www.themothersunion.org/faith_in_the_family.aspx

So, please keep praying and rejoicing as we witness answers to our prayers.

Joanne Triffitt

waiting to hear from members

The role of Project Development Officer for Mothers' Union is an exciting venture put together with a vision to enable people across the Diocese engage with their communities at ‘Grass Roots Level’ and really make a difference in the lives of individuals and their families.  My job is to facilitate and help these encounters happen; through listening to and talking through ideas, training and practical support.

My vision for the job is to ‘fan into flame the passion for His name’, to increase the expectation of what can be achieved when we put Christ right at the centre of all that we are and do.  There are evidence of  ‘Sparks ‘  all over the Diocese, some go unnoticed, others are just flickering away and it is my job to work with you to create the right environment so that these sparks can become flames.   The success of my role relies on ‘you’ out there in your communities to notice the ‘sparks’, make a commitment to ‘fan’ it and together, with God at the centre, we can make a difference.

So how can we identify ‘sparks’?  Sometimes ideas that pop into our head and seem totally unachievable are actually the ‘sparks’ that need to be fanned.  Other times we have an idea that keeps coming back to us.  Other times there is something very small already happening; a tiny spark that just needs the right environment to become a flame.  Most of all, if we listen, God will lay on our hearts the work He wants us to do, and, if He has laid His work on our hearts then He certainly will equip us to carry out the work.

For now Joanne is fully occupied with the team ‘delivering’ the Virtual Baby Project pilot in Westbury.  If you do feel you would like to discuss a new idea with Joanne please get in touch with her for an initial discussion.

Finally, if any of what you have just read resonates with you and you would like to talk through an idea or find out more then please do contact me. 

My email: pdo.mothersunion@yahoo.co.uk 

and phone number: 07583541732 

or through the Mothers' Union Salisbury Office  

Joanne Triffitt, Project Development Officer, is pictured here at the Sarum Archdeaconry Day with Thomas and Jo Naish

Virtually Born

Tuesday 29^th September was the first proper outing for our five babies.  Project Development Worker, Joanne Triffitt and her team attend the first lesson at the Westbury School.  22 members of the class signed up for the project. 2 boys were less enthusiastic but very interested.  The team have produced mountains of paperwork, necessary for working in a school environment, sewn labels on countless baby garments, come to terms with the technology and spent sleepless nights both attending to the babies in a trial-run and simply thinking about the plans!   Please pray this month that the young people will gain a really positive experience of childcare that informs their choices as they mature. The taster weekend at the end of October identified a few hitches.  Please pray that the official start after half-term goes smoothly.  Ann Howard had a brief experience of twins (3hrs only) and has every faith in the project providing numerous learning experiences.

This is very exciting and potentially very big.  Please pray for more volunteers to take the project to other schools and wisdom to know how to develop the project.

Please pray that as the class completes their experience the young people will gain a really positive experience of childcare that informs their choices as they mature.   The project was featured in a Westbury  newspaper in November - www.whitehorsenews.co.uk you can view the photo of the team and students on the website photos page for week beginning  14^th November. Ann Howard had a brief experience of twins (3hrs only) and has every faith in the project providing numerous learning experiences.  

This is very exciting and potentially very big.  Please pray for more volunteers to take the project to other schools and wisdom to know how to develop the project.

The project continues in Matravers School in February

Marriage

Members of Salisbury Diocese Mothers’ Union will be present at a number of Wedding Fayres this autumn and again in the early Spring.  Please pray for these opportunities to speak to couples thinking about their wedding.  The teams are particularly keen to promote and encourage marriage preparation.  Mothers’ Union has also been working with the Council of Mission on the C0fE Weddings Project. We look forward to closer working on this subject in the diocese. We would encourage clergy using this resource to contact the Mothers’ Union Office or Joanne Triffitt for support.

Meanwhile if you want to suggest something to your clergy that you can also help to present then take a look at www.relationshipcentral.org/marriage-course.  Where members are blessed with a partner after many years marriage, we could start the ball rolling by attending a course designed to enrich our marriages – showing that its never too late to learn.  In this way we might encourage those with fewer years behind them to do the same.  It could be fun!

Worth taking a look at are the two flyers on marriage preparation

These resources are available from the Office:

[click] for 'Journeying Together'

[click] for 'A Day to Celebrate'  

  Indoor Members

God of comfort, God of presence, stay beside me now, stay around me, within me, through me, and before me, that in spite of pain, I may feel some light lifting me up, that I may see  signs of you guarding me, protecting me, in peace, in calm, by still waters. Amen

From 'Here With You' Praying in Hospital.

Please contact Jan if there is someone who would like to become an Indoor Member. Please write and give the new Indoor Member's address, date of birth, and any other relevant detail that you think may be useful for me to know. Please address it to me at the Office or by e-mail to jm.seaman@virgin.net                         

Salisbury Women’s Refuge

The Trustees of the Salisbury Women’s Refuge are planning to launch a

‘Friends of the Refuge’ group.  Please look out for more information.  

Please look on their new website for more information.

www.salisburywomensrefuge.co.uk

If you would like to support the refuge by supplying gifts for resident families over Christmas we have been asked to consider providing vouchers that can be used to buy personalized gifts for the families.  M&S,Boots, Next, Body Shop, WH Smith and Smthes Toyshop.  It is recognized that vouchers are a less satisfying gift to the giver but staff are able to make your voucher become a really persona gift for the recipient.

Your support is much appreciated by everyone involved at The Refuge.        

Supporting Children and Families affected by ImPrisonment – because of budget cuts the Mothers’ Union resource is ever more valuable.  Erlestoke Visitor Centre is open more often now: from 2 – 4 on Thursday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  It is possible that from the end of September that visits might be taking place on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

More volunteers will be welcome

Please contact Ann Cowburn via the office if you would like to help  

Mothers’ Union Christmas Cards have been sent to offenders at Erlestoke, Guy’s Marsh and Shepton Mallet prisons.  Please find time to pray for these men and their families. To help you to do this try imagining what it will feel like for the wives and partners of these men, what effect it might have on the children and how much time and effort it could take to make a visit to these out of the way places!

The need for funds for Overseas members never goes away.   Every £1.00 raised for Overseas makes a bigger difference than every £1.00 we spend here in the UK.

Please keep up the fundraising for our fellow-members whose need is often far greater than ours.

To find out how Mothers’ Union provides emergency help for those affected by disaster, click on the picture

Mothers’ Union Literacy and Development Programme – for more information click on the picture

Office  Notices: 

Tuesdays and Thursdays 9.30 am - 3.30 pm 

and at other times by arrangement

we are not open on  Saturday mornings 

 Salisbury Cathedral Communion Service

There will be a Communion Service on 28 February at 12:15pm

The Celebrant will be Revd. Ann Bennett Shaw, Heytesbury

Don't forget you can e-mail us with your comments, or to ask for information:  mothers.union@btconnect.com

  [Top]

LOOKING FORWARD

The Hannah Project

MUMA 

Our prayer is being answered almost before we uttered it.

Having completed the Parenting Facilitators Training Jane Lax, Jane Dunlop and Alison Cowley of Whiteparish ran a successful parenting 

group with members of their Toddler Group and others. They have continued with the relationships (remember the 2011 

theme: Faithful Relationship) and this week launched a new group to support mothers of any age and stage under the title MUMA 

Mothers’ Union Mothers Active. The model is simple, as are most successful things. The group meets in someone’s home for about 2 hours. 

This particular group wants to meet monthly in the evening with out the children but it can be weekly in the morning after school drop 

off and small children included.  The latter model requires older members to form a crèche for the Word.   The group begins with having 

informal chat over a glass of wine or coffee and the second hour is The Word - discussion is given a Christian focus perhaps discussing 

a relevant bible passage or a relevant book.  During the session issues and concerns are shared and at the end after a short prayer 

the concerns are taken away and prayed for by an MU member or Home group. It is also important that some church/MU members 

pray for the group whilst it is in progress and for the leaders and mums. This works. The MUMA’s become branch members as we 

are all Mothers’ Union. This isn’t a break away group , we are mothers whatever age.

Please pray that the Lord will: raise us enthusiasts for this project Show us the people with the gifts of hospitality and leadership to make it happen Encourage church leaders to allow this to happen  

Melanie McFadden from Ely Diocese will be speaking about this project at Spring Council on 10^th March.

        Programme Planning

There are a number of ideas pages available for branch programmes.  We try to ensure that our programmes reflect the objectives of Mothers’ Union and support the ministry of our churches.  There are likely to be unpredictable events and activities across the diocese so we hope branches will respond flexibly.  

The theme for 2012 will be ‘YOUR GIFT?: Discover & Celebrate’

Branch Leaders received a programme suggestion last month courtesy of Chichester Diocese

to view it click [here]

[click] here to view the December Branch Leaders' page produced in December 2010

For a calendar of ideas  [click]

The document prepared for Branch Leaders in the summer of 2010 is still available to view

[click]

Click [here] for some ideas from other dioceses for promoting Bye Buy Childhood through your branches.

Download a copy of our Annual Review from the Mothers Union website to find out how we strive towards our Vision through practical community outreach at

http://www.themothersunion.org/annualreview0405.aspx

Moors Valley Event – we are working towards another event at the Country Park on June 16^th 2012.  This is the weekend of Father’s Day so we may already have our theme!  Please speak to Joanne if you have any thoughts on this.

Exmouth Holiday Reunion

Will take place at Laverstock Community Farm from 11 – 4 pm on Saturday 17^th March.  Many of our guests are really pleased to have this opportunity to meet up again and renew friendships with the team.  One guest suffered the loss of her baby just before Christmas, please pray for her and her extended family.

Mothers’ Union General Meeting 16^th June in Llandudno

Note from Central Website:

In 2012 Mothers' Union General Meeting will be held at the Venue Cymru in Llandudno, Wales on Saturday 16 June 2012.

We are hoping to hold two welcome services on the evening of Friday 15 June at Bangor and St Asaph Cathedrals.

The Province of Wales have written to every Diocesan President to formally greet them from the province and to invite people to book accommodation. The Province will handle the booking/ allocation of tickets for the cathedral services.  Tickets for the General Meeting will be sold by Cymru in Llandudno direct from their box office.  Both service tickets and General Meeting tickets  will only be available from 20th February 2012, immediately following Worldwide Council.  This is to ensure that all dioceses are made aware at the same time.  Ticket price for the General Meeting is not yet known but we hope to let you know as soon as we have a confirmed speaker.

For specific help with your arrangements before that time, if you ring the Marketing

team either in your area, or nationally we will do our very best to help.

Email: marketing@themothersunion.org

Tel: 020 72225533

RECENT EVENTS

Autumn Council was held on Saturday 15^th October – the same day as Bishop Nicholas’ enthronement in Salisbury Cathedral.

We were pleased to receive the Bishop’s blessing to continue with our meeting, delighted at the turnout and finished on time!.  Members are here pictured waving a greeting to the new Bishop at the time of midday prayers.

We were able once again to share news of our activities across the diocese and to think about new ones. 

The major initiative is The Hannah Project  see above

Day of Faithful Prayer – 9^th August 2011

Exmouth Holiday

This holiday was a great time for everyone.  Families, young and old team members and our two chaplains gelled into a great team.  Lots of outings, lots of old-fashioned fun.  Times of praise, prayer and reflection.  We are grateful for all the support given by members and other sponsoring bodies both in cash and in kind.  Visitors from Mart Sumner House were able to interview some guests so we look forward to some feedback from that direction.

We are working on ways to maintain our contact with those families who wish to join in with more Mothers’ Union activities.  Please pray for this.

We thank Sue Gallagher and Hugh Montgomerie for master-minding this activity and for coaching Ian and Wilma Bromilow ready for next year.

Dates for 2012 are 18 – 25^th August  

WORLDWIDE MOTHERS’ UNION  

In July we re privileged to spend some time with Rt Revd Stephen Nijhai Mwangi and his wife Hannah, Mothers’ Union Diocesan President and Kenya Provincial President. [Click] here for full report and picture

A contact address: acknkudioc@africaonline.co.ke.

In the absence of a co-ordinator for Overseas, please let Jenny know if you contact Nakuru Diocese.

Please don’t expect a reply.  Telephone is the most used means of communication.  Many people are beginning to use mobile phones locally, and the internet is obviously dependent  on power supplies which can be sporadic.  Whatever we send it is clear that Mothers’ Union in Nakuru is deeply grateful for the love and fellowship across the world.

  NB If you do fundraise for Nakuru, please send money via Wendy Bales with a note to MSH of your desire for it to reach this diocese.

Molly Edwards will be sending our Christmas greetings to our Link Dioceses this month.

Please remember to pray for our fellow members in Australia, Kenya, Sudan and Manchester

Contact Diocese of Salisbury Mothers' Union at:

Mothers' Union

Diocese of Salisbury

Mothers' Union Office

Church House

Salisbury

SP1 2QB

Tel: 01722 333402

Registered Charity No. 249696