Wolvesey in Winchester

If you feel you need to take time-out from your normal schedule to sit with God and receive from him, here’s a really good chance for you to do just that.

You would be most welcome to come and share in the next Mothers’ Union Quiet Day to be held at Wolvesey in Winchester on Wednesday 21st July 2010. The day will be led by Revd Norman Boakes, a member of the Discipleship and Ministry Department of the Diocese of Winchester and a supporter of Mothers’ Union. Revd Boakes will be leading the day using the theme “Relationship not Rules”.

The Quiet Day will start at 10am and finish at 3.30pm and will include a Eucharist. Drinks are provided but you are asked to bring your own sandwich lunch. There are a short flight of stairs to the Chapel where the main sessions of the day will be led.

If you would like to take advantage of this opportunity, please download our QuietDay_July10_BookingForm and return it to us with a £3.00 donation/person. Places are limited to 50 so please book soon to avoid disappointment. A map is available here: Winchester – Wolvesey

Mothers' Union goat project to improve nutrition in Masasi Diocese (2006)

We have received  information about the Diocese of Masasi in Tanzania saying that it has been divided into two, with a new Diocese of Newala being formed in September 2009.

The Diocese of Masasi remains one of the Diocese with which we are linked as prayer partners through the Mothers’ Union Wave of Prayer, and as yet we do not know how this news affects that partnership, or the geographic areas affected. We will share more news relating to our specifically Mothers’ Union link when we have it, but in the meantime you may be interested in looking at the website of the Friends of Masasi.

In the meantime it would be a good idea to pray for both Diocese: The Diocese of Newala with it’s new Bishop Rt Revd Oscar Mnung’a and the remaining Diocese of Masasi, Rt Revd Patrick Mwachiko especially as he has been forced to move out of the Bishop’s house at Mtandi because his damaged home is beyond repair.

Jade talks honestly about the idea of a drop-in centre in Southampton for released prisoners not having been as successful as hoped, and explains briefly why she thinks this is:

One of the things I have found is that the men I meet upon release do not want to meet up with ex-offenders because they are worried about being tempted to commit crimes again. But they are happy to have coffee with me and meet on a one-to-one. So this is what I continue to do each week spending a full day in and around Southampton and Portsmouth meeting up individually with men who have served time at HMP Winchester. This consists of coffee… and listening to the men talk about how the week has been, the highs and lows. We have a prayer and then arrange to meet again in a fortnight and keep in contact via texts and phone calls. Through meeting with the men I believe that they are encouraged to keep walking with Jesus and stay away from the temptation of crime.

Jade has also been encouraged by those Mothers’ Union groups that have hosted her as a speaker, and the way that those who came wanted to know how their churches can support men who go along to church. She says:

I always say to churches treat visitors with love and respect and no matter what their background make them feel welcome. Not all men will identify themselves as men who have served time in prison, but that means that each person is treated with the Christian love that God tells us to treat everyone to we meet.

At least two Mothers’ Union members from the Diocese of Winchester hope to attend the next Presentation Day on the SORI course that Jade runs, which starts on Monday 17th May. You can find out more here about this Restorative Justice scheme – please pray for this important work.

Please also continue to pray for

• all the men who have served time at HMP Winchester and are now trying to settle back into the community;
• the Chaplaincy team and all those involved in selecting a new chaplain to head the team.

If you think you could become part of the Mothers’ Union ministry at HMP Winchester which happens on the first Sunday of each month among those men awaiting release, please contact us via the link on the bottom right of your screen. For insurance reasons you will need to be (or become) a Mothers’ Union member.

Some people pray occasionally, some in emergencies, some daily, some frequently each day. Everyone is different, but some patterns of prayer bind groups of people together.

Mothers’ Union supporters have a pattern of prayer which makes them stop whatever work or meetings they may be undertaking together at mid-day, and they then prayerfully reflect on their work, on their part in a worldwide organisation, on a particular group of members around the world (using something called the Mothers’ Union ‘Wave of Prayer’) and on the needs of those they know.

Mothers’ Union supporters who want to share in prayer over the next couple of months, might like to use the following downloadable notes to give them a little guidance and direction. You are welcome to share with us by using them as well.

MUMiddayPrayers-May2010

MUMiddayPrayers-June2010

“Politics is the art of living together in community and that is precisely what the Bible is about” says the Mothers’ Union guide to the General Election: “New Vision – New Future”

The 17-page document outlines the policies of the political parties that relate to the Mothers’ Union aims and objectives on marriage and relationships, family life, work/life balance, commercialisation of childhood, gender equality and international development. It also

• urges us to support the Sanctuary Pledge Campaign which calls for the eradication of child detention in the UK – Mothers’ Union is an official partner of this campaign but it needs our individual support as well;
• information on how to make sure we are registered as a voter;
• information about how to get involved in hustings and organise discussion groups;
• biblical references about areas of concern that will help us pray and study as we decide how to caste our vote;
• prayers and a General Election Litany.

Effective prayer should be informed prayer.
Effective voting should be informed voting.
The choice is ours but the example is Christ’s.

The North Hampshire Child Contact Centre has been initiated by, and the management committee is made up of, members from the North Hampshire Downs Mothers’ Union. They live in the villages just outside Basingstoke and the Child Contact Centre is being held at Hook near M3 J5 and the mainline train between Basingstoke and Fleet. Both Basingstoke and Fleet have child contact centres with waiting lists.

The volunteers to support the project have come from the village church congregations and from local school connections. This has enabled outreach by Mothers’ Union members to other supporters, and from the whole community (led by the Mothers’ Union) to the communities across the area.

The Child Contact Centre’s sole purpose is to enable parents, and sometimes grandparents, to rebuild relationships with children residing with estranged former partners. Contact is usually ordered by the courts. Those who have volunteered to help with sessions have been specially trained to facilitate resident parents who are reluctant about letting estranged partners have access to their children, and also care for children who may be very torn over which parent to please.

The North Hampshire Child Contact Centre would welcome your prayers for its volunteers and clients as it starts providing this vital and much needed service to the local community.

More information about how the project has been set up will be available on this website soon, and in the summer edition of our Diocesan Newsletter ‘Archway’.

In her prayer letter this month Jade shares news of talks she’s been able to give to Year11 pupils in a Winchester school:

I was very encouraged by the questions that the young people asked me, to do with the prison and also the rehabilitation of ex-offenders…The second time I took a set of prison clothes and all the things that the men get given on arrival. I found that having some real life prison property with me enabled the young people to interact a bit more.

Jade also talks about the 6-week trial of an ex-offenders drop in, currently being run from the Weston Healthcare Centre in Southampton. They may then try out another area in which they know ex-offenders are living, as they seek to discern which is the best venue.

Among all this, and her continued commitments to prisoners inside, Jade continues to be able to support men who have been released, some of whom are attending churches. Currently this sees her weekly in Portsmouth supporting a group there who need her time one-to-one to help them deal with personal issues as she seeks to help them avoid the temptations of returning to a life of crime.

This month Jade is particularly asking our prayers for:

• the next SORI programme (a week-long restorative justice course Supporting Offenders through Restoration Inside) will start on 21st March with the presentation afternoon on Thursday 25th March in front of invited guests;
• the whole chaplaincy team as the senior chaplain moves towards retirement in June;
• the drop-in centre at Weston and the volunteers who are making themselves available to be their for ex-offenders each week;
• men back in the community trying to live crime free lives;
• that God will continue to bless the ministry and all those men who have made a commitment to God in the past, or who will in the future.

If you are interested in knowing more about Jade’s ministry as a Community Prison Chaplain through the Church Army/Fresh Expression, please “Contact Us” through the link bottom right of this screen and we will pass your message on.

The Christian Calendar is now moving into Lent as we mark Ash Wednesday on 16th February 2010. Christian tradition encourages us to examine ourselves honestly, acknowledge our shortcomings, and seek reconciliation with God and with each other where we have compromised our relationships. Mothers’ Union has produced some material for Lent:

Lent-Easter-Meditations2010

As part of this years Mothers’ Union theme “Relationships not Rules” there is also the following prompt to our Lenten thoughts and helps us to turn them to actions: RnotR2010-LentColourChart

Many Mothers’ Union groups like to mark 25th March (known either as “Lady Day” or the “Annunciation of our Lord to the Blessed Virgin Mary”) with a special service.

At the annunciation, Mary made a free choice to be the bearer of a child who would bring freedom to the entire world. Traditionally, the church has characterised Mary as silent and passive, but in fact, she is a major spokesperson for those who are oppressed. In the Magnificat, Mary tells us that justice is at the heart of the Christian message. She rejoices because of the freedom God offers in lifting the humble high.

This theme was reflected in the Lady Day service written in 2007 which can still be used by groups as the theme reflects the work of Mothers’ Union members as they seek to bring forward justice for families through prayer, projects, and speak out where government policies affect marriage and family life. You can download it here: Lady_Day_Service_2007

If you are reading this web-page because you are interested to learn more about these diocese, you are particularly welcome. Once you’ve read the links available, please click on the word ‘comment’ and tell us if you found them helpful, interesting, and also where you are from! We’d love to hear from you.

Information about project work (including our Family Holiday scheme), events and activities among Mothers’ Union members in the Diocese of Winchester can be viewed by clicking the other link pages and ‘tags’ on the top and left of your screen.

During the last few days we have posted information about three of the Diocese to whom Winchester is linked. Each can be found by scrolling down the postings on this ‘home-page’ or by clicking the ‘tag’ links. There is further background information on each via the ‘International’ heading at the top of your screen.

Muhabura, situated in Southern Uganda, is the last to be featured. In 2009 we became aware that, despite the drought conditions the region was experiencing, Mothers’ Union members were helping many refugees displaced from the Democratic Republic of Congo. This was supported by two donations from the Mothers’ Union Relief Fund, which operates to help members in the relief work they undertake in their local communities. Information from Mothers’ Union head office suggests that Muhabura members continue to care for refugees from D R Congo.

Whether you are a Mothers’ Union member, or just interested in who we are and what we do, may God bless you as you journey through life with him.

Mothers’ Union has families of Diocese stretching across the world who pray for each other regularly, and who collectively form a ‘Wave of Prayer’. One of Winchester’s permanent links is with Kajo-Keji in Southern Sudan, and from tomorrow (January 21st) they and their partner diocese of Kitgum and Muhabura (in Uganda) and Masasi (in Tanzania) will be at the centre of all Mothers’ Union prayers around the world.

As one of the key agencies from the Church involved in bringing humanitarian and development assistance to the people of Sudan, Mothers’ Union has spoken out to lend support to Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul, from the Episcopal Church of the Sudan, calling for urgent international support for efforts to maintain the fragile Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). The CPA was signed in 2005 ending a long and devastating civil war, but violence is now on the increase across the region.

[Full details of the situation and issues surrounding it can be found among recent Chatham House papers, and recent speeches by Archbishop Rowan Williams, and Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul can be downloaded from the Archbishops website.]

A Mothers' Union literacy group in Southern Sudan

Mothers’ Union has a membership of 15,000 women in Sudan, and runs an extensive Literacy & Development programme (MULDP) in the country, working closely with the Episcopal Church of the Sudan. The CPA has enabled Mothers’ Union Sudan’s Literacy Trainers to extend the programme to communities in Southern Sudan who were previously isolated through conflict. This progress is at risk should the fragile peace not be protected.

Naomi Herbert, Senior Programme Officer for Mothers’ Union said “Before the CPA our development programme couldn’t reach out of the controlled area of Juba and the areas in the North. Since the CPA our volunteers have brought the programme into isolated and previously inaccessible interior regions. Communities are now engaging in new businesses, roads enable markets to be accessible, more food is available, and people have better access to healthcare and natal facilities. All efforts need to be made by governments and agencies to facilitate open dialogue between north and south on key issues of wealth sharing, so that the people of the South are not plunged in to a conflict over resources at a time when peace is making such a difference to the lives of ordinary women, men and children across Sudan.”

However, there are other issues that specifically affect Kajo-Keji. The Diocese of Kajo-Keji has not yet been able to introduce and implement the MULDP. Funding provided by Mothers’ Union for the programme (which also operates in Burundi and Malawi ) used to be matched by funding from Comic Relief for the project, but that source is now exhausted. The challenge is therefore to find funding for the Mothers’ Union’s Literacy and Development Programme that will allow it to continue in the areas it has already reached, and specifically to expand into regions like Kajo-Keji where it would prove equally effective.