If you are not involved directly with organising events, please pray for

In March members from Eastleigh Deanery will lead our worship as we celebrate together our work supporting marriage and family life and support in prayer other members [...]]]> On the first Wednesday of every month, Mothers’ Union members in the Diocese of Winchester meet for prayer and worship in the Epiphany Chapel of Winchester Cathedral.

In March members from Eastleigh Deanery will lead our worship as we celebrate together our work supporting marriage and family life and support in prayer other members in more than 80 countries in which Mothers’ Union is active.

At this particular service we hope to be able to welcome to a Mothers’ Union leader from Baghdad in Iraq. We hope that we might welcome you too?

The services starts at 10.30am on Wednesday 7th March 2012 and will last about half an hour. After the service we adjourn to the Refectory for refreshments.

As usual the work of Mothers’ Union and it’s members in the Diocese of Winchester, together with it’s partner dioceses will be at the centre of all prayers shared by Mothers’ Union members worldwide between January 21st -25th. This [...]]]>

Gift from Mothers' Union members in Muhabura received by members in Winchester Diocese 2011

As usual the work of Mothers’ Union and it’s members in the Diocese of Winchester, together with it’s partner dioceses will be at the centre of all prayers shared by Mothers’ Union members worldwide between January 21st -25th. This is because we will be the focus of Mothers’ Union ‘Wave of Prayer’ for that period.

For more information about each Diocese to which we are currently linked, you can click on the following list: Kitgum in Northern Uganda and Muhabura in Southern Uganda (who also have their own website here); Masasi in Southern Tanzania and Kajo-Keji in the newly formed country of Southern Sudan (who also have their own website here).

There are local services planned at various places across the Diocese of Winchester during this period. Below are the details of the service to be held in Winchester during the period. If you have a service happening with your Mothers’ Union group in the Diocese of Winchester or up-to-date information about one of our link Diocese, please share the details using the ‘comments’ box below.

Winchester Deanery Wave of Prayer Service Tuesday, 24th January. 10.00 am for a 10.30 Service to be held in St. Barnabas’ Church, Weeke. Deanery Chaplain, Revd Mike Gardner will be leading the service with Revd Alan Gordon, Winchester Deanery Rural Dean, giving a talk on his 2011 visit to Muhabura and North Kingezi. All are welcome.

This Mothering Sunday, as you remember your mother, we are asking you to do something a little different. Instead of flowers or a box of chocolates why not buy her an ethical gift that [...]]]> 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 to 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? A gift that gives twice over!

Your gift could be as small as £3 which will go towards supplying food, blankets, mosquito nets and other emergency supplies to an area affected by drought, violence or natural disaster. Your gift could be as large as £100 funding a mum where there is no mum, among the orphan’s of HIV/AIDS in Uganda. A £13 gift could train a Mothers’ Union member to support families who are coping with bereavement. There are many other choices among our ethical gifts, and they are all to be found HERE.

Whatever gift you chose you can know that it will be funding Mothers’ Union work in some of the world’s most deprived communities, each gift representing part of the cost of a crucial Mothers’ Union project.

For your gift card to be sent you in time for you to give it to your mother on Mothering Sunday (18th March) your orders need to be in by Wednesday 7th March 2012.

If you wish to advertise this form of ethical giving in your church, community centre or place of work, you are welcome to download this colour poster MAMD2012_DonationsAd

The Advertising Standards Authority are not able [...]]]> Following through with our Bye Buy Childhood campaign, and the recommendations of the Bailey Review, various new Codes of Practice have been issued by the appropriate organisations. This are available on the Bye Buy Childhood campaign website, but for ease of access can also be found below:

The Advertising Standards Authority are not able to act against examples of inappropriate advertising, unless people make a complaint about a specific advert or product placement. Click the link for their Statement on Sexual Imagery in Outdoor Advertising.

BT, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and Sky have agreed to abide by a Code of Practice on the Use of Parental Controls on computer internet use. From October 2012, they will ASK customers whether they want ‘parental controls’ ie blocking of pornographic material, switched on or off. This is really good news, as though these facilities are already available, many parents are unaware either of the facility or how to use it.

Policies relating to the responsible retailing of children’s clothing are available from the British Retail Consortium and can be accessed directly here.

There are also Guidelines for the Display of Men’s Lifestyle Magazine’s – what are perhaps better known as “lad’s mags”!

There is also a ban on the use of under 16s for peer to peer brand ambassadors through a set of guiding principles for brand advertising, the link for which should be available shortly.

All these guidelines underline how vital it is to get parents to notice and report any advertising they feel is inappropriate, and the opportunities there are for doing so. The December 2011 MU Faith and Policy Watch  gives examples of recently upheld complaints, to give you an idea of what the regulator is heeding. If you are interested in social policy matters relating to family life, parenting and marriage, downloading this newsletter each month provides all sorts of useful information.

ParentPort shows the standards expected from the media, and is also the appropriate place to make a complaint about material, whether that be on a TV programme or advert, in a film, online, in a video game or in a magazine. It is run by the UK’s media regulators, who set and enforce standards across the media to protect children from inappropriate material.

Tuesday 29th November 2011 10am – 2pm St Leonards and St Ives Village Hall 

At our July Information Evening we held taster sessions exploring how we might action our new FIVE YEAR PLAN and went away to [...]]]> We would like as many Mothers’ Union supporters as possible to come to our next Information Day.

Tuesday 29th November 2011 10am – 2pm
St Leonards and St Ives Village Hall 

At our July Information Evening we held taster sessions exploring how we might action our new FIVE YEAR PLAN and went away to think in our local groups about how Mothers’ Union supporters in our area are going to achieve our 2012 targets, which are:

MARRIAGE –  

• Attend three wedding fairs in the region
• Recruit a marriage champion for 2013

FAMILY - 

• 10 groups who do not already support the Mothers’ Union Away From It All Family Holiday to run or organise a fund raising event

 MEMBERSHIP - 

•  Every Mothers’ Union group in the diocese to recruit at least one new member or replace  a lost member during 2012.

 If you are not already a Mothers’ Union member and these targets are something you    would like to help us achieve in your area, please come along and contribute ideas.

 Refreshments are provided but please bring a packed lunch.

21st October 2011, 1-5pm The Boardroom, University of Winchester, King Alfred Campus

The full list of Papers and Speakers appears below, but full details can be downloaded here including transport details for the King Alfred Campus, Winchester: Media and Mothers Matters [...]]]> Full details of the Media and Mothers’ Matters Conference have now been released. 

21st October 2011, 1-5pm
The Boardroom, University of Winchester, King Alfred Campus

The full list of Papers and Speakers appears below, but full details can be downloaded here including transport details for the King Alfred Campus, Winchester:
Media and Mothers Matters Further Details

Keynote Speakers

Stella Roberts, Diocesan President, Mothers’ Union Diocese of Winchester
“Media and Mothers’ Matters”

Dorothy Hobson, University of Wolverhampton
“Mothers and the Media”

Kim Akass, Critical Studies in Television
“From Here to Maternity – Motherhood in the Media”

Janet MaCabe, Birkbeck, University of London/University of Glamorgan
“States of Confusion: Sarah Palin and the Media Politics of US Mothering”

Rebecca Feasey, Bath Spa University
“Teen Drama: Absent, Inept, Intoxicated Mothers”

Rachel Agbonkhese, Cardiff University
“Setting the Media Agenda for Maternal Mortality in Nigeria: A long road to travel”

Tamsyn Dent, Bournemouth University/Skillset
The Widening Gender Gap in the UK Creative Media Industries (CMI)

So that Mothers’ Union groups around the world can focus their prayer, Bible Study and work together next year, a series of study and prayer materials have been put together for groups to use.

An introduction to the Christian perspective of the [...]]]> The Mothers’ Union theme for 2012 is “Your gift? Discover and celebrate!”

So that Mothers’ Union groups around the world can focus their prayer, Bible Study and work together next year, a series of study and prayer materials have been put together for groups to use.

An introduction to the Christian perspective of the purpose and nature of our gifts – this could be worked through as Bible reflection for any individual, or with small groups Introduction_purpose_nature_of_gifts

All she had – a reflective Bible study on the widows mite Luke 21:1-4 All_she_had_Bible_Study

Bible characters and their gifts – some questions that could be used for a homegroup, meeting, or personal study looking at Bible characters, their gifts, and the contexts in which they were used BibleCharacters_gifts_chart_questions

The collective gifts of Mothers’ Union – an organisational exercise for Mothers’ Union groups the results of which could be usefully fed back to your Diocesan Trustee Board Discovering_your_charity’s_gift_questions

Bible reflection on five stones and five loaves – a short Biblical reflection bringing together the story of David’s victory over Goliath in 1 Samuel 17 and the feeding of ‘many’ in John 6:5-13 Five_stones_and_five_loaves

A collection of 10 prayers including some with questions and responses that could surround any work on discovering and celebrating our gifts Prayers_on_Discovering_&_Celebrating_Gifts

Scripture texts concerning how we should use our gifts – Romans 12:3-9, Ephesians 4:2-12, and 1 Peter 4:10-11 Scriptural_texts_concerning_gifts

A Bible Study including ideas for craft activities, comparing what we learn of the gifts required for the building of the tabernacle in the Old Testament with those suggested by the presence of God’s living temple, Jesus Christ with us today Tabernacle_LivingTemple_Bible_Study

A Biblical Treasure Hunt Treasure_Hunt_Bible_Study

At an RAF base, on holiday, in word, through worship and with free cake, Mothers’ Union members across the Diocese are supporting families in fun, practical ways this month, as the [...]]]>

Mothers' Union free homemade cake stall at RAF Odiham Families Day, 10th August 2011 - with Apache Helicopter doing aerobatics above!

At an RAF base, on holiday, in word, through worship and with free cake, Mothers’ Union members across the Diocese are supporting families in fun, practical ways this month, as the organisation celebrates its 135^th anniversary!

More than 100 homemade cakes were collected by Mothers’ Union members at Old Alresford on Wednesday and transported to RAF Odiham where, with 100s more they served 1000s of RAF personnel and their families at the RAF Odiham Families Day on Wednesday 10^th August. For the second consecutive year a team of Mothers’ Union members made a gift of FREE tea, coffee, squash and cake to families who attended.

The idea for the gift grew out of the desire of local Mothers’ Union members to show their appreciation for the sacrifices made by RAF personnel as they serve tours of duty overseas, especially in Afghanistan, as well as their families. This year’s team of 16 Mothers’ Union members served throughout the day as families circulated watching the flying displays and other attractions.

Mothers’ Union in the Diocese of Winchester is also offering Relationship Counselling to support to any Armed Forces family connection with the Diocese that is struggling to cope with the pressures service life places on their family. More information about this pilot project is available here. 

Many of the cakes had been made by the 140 members who gathered on Tuesday 9^th August at Old Alresford to celebrate the 135^th Anniversary of the founding of Mothers’ Union by Mary Sumner. Holy Communion was celebrated in St Mary’s Church by Right Revd Peter Hancock, Bishop of Basingstoke. In his address he Bishop Peter reminded members of the words of Teresa of Avila, that they are the ‘hands of Jesus’ as they support of marriage and family life around the world. Later in the day Rosemary Kempsell, Worldwide President of Mothers’ Union gave a presentation showing how Mothers’ Union members around the world are still living out the original vision of Mary Sumner who founded the organisation at Old Alresford.

Another team of Mothers’ Union supporters are also preparing for the region’s biggest annual project which offers a week’s holiday to families who would otherwise fail to get a break from difficult lives. This year’s break starts on Saturday 13^th August at a new venue for the holiday, Pilgrim Hall in East Sussex. Approximately 19 families will be hosted by a team who provide children’s activities, youth events, a day out, baby sitting, a fancy dress disco and the chance to receive unconditional love whatever their circumstances. For more information click the link here: Mothers’ Union ‘Away From It All’ Family Holiday

More photographs of the Mothers’ Union stall at the RAF Families Day and from the anniversary celebrations at Old Alresford, can be found at our Flickr group