“Can you help keep this Diocese going?” Do You Believe in the Work of the Mothers’ Union?

Do you Believe we should continue to

• Pray for the Mothers’ Union work, both

across the world and in this diocese?

• Raise funds for the Mothers’ Union work,

both across the world and in this diocese?

• Support local Mothers’ Union projects with items such

as Gifts, Knitting and Vouchers?

• As M.U. members, be involved with family activities?

If you answer Yes to any of the above questions,

then We Need You!

As I explained last month we should have had an

election so You would chose Your Trustees & President

for the New Trustee Triennial (2022-2024) but we are no-

where near the numbers needed to run an election.

I am now Whispering louder and Shouting across

the Diocese, especially to Bath & Wells Archdeaconries.

Please see this as a plea direct to you or do you know

someone who just needs a nudge to make this step?

Pray about it & ring me (07967 961751) or any other

trustee for more information.

Have you put Monday 20th September in your diary? If not, Please do NOW!

We will honour friends and families who have died during the last 2 years and Give Thanks for their life. We will also look at ways to not just keep the MU happening but to make it GROW!

2

This Month’s News from our Link Diocese

From Gay Curtis

our Links’ Liaison Officer

Worldwide Links - Diocese of Vellore

(Tamil Nadu, Southern India) Mothers Union in Vellore is an affiliated member of the

Church of South India Women’s Fellowship. Many and varied

have been the attempts to continue our initial contact with

Vellore diocese but none has brought a response – until now!

Roshini Mendis, Worldwide Trustee for Zone A, directed

us towards Professor Esther Prasankumar, President of the

Church of South India Women’s Fellowship, (CSI WF).

Roshini and Prof Esther exchange information about their di-

ocesan ministry and, before the pandemic, plans had been

made for Roshini and Sheran Harper to visit and build up the

relationship of Mothers’ Union within CSI WF.

Through Dr Ester’s personal approach, Dr Jasmine Alley,

General Secretary of the Women’s Fellowship in Vellore

responded with warm greetings from CSI WF saying:-

“Let me start with saying sorry for the late reply. During

the last 3 weeks, our family underwent a critical situation. My

brother, who is a priest, has a 5-month-old son, Ivan who

needed brain surgery. By God's grace now baby is recovering

3

fast. Really God has done a miracle to

the little one. He is still at hospital so

kindly keep him in your valuable pray-

ers. Sorry for sharing my personal

worries.

I am so grateful for the blessings

from the members of the Mother's

Union, Bath and Wells.

This pandemic made lot of crises

such as financial, many lost their jobs,

lost their beloved ones and so on, in

the life of women. In the midst of this hard situation, there is

no such relief in domestic violence and sexual harassment.

CSI WF is undergoing financial crisis because of lockdown.

We are not able to raise fund from our income generated

projects, even finding difficult to meet salary. But by God's

grace we all are doing well.

In the case of Vellore Diocese WF have so many prayer

requests due to lockdown.

1. Financial crisis of CSI WF

2. Schools are closed - it leads to child marriage and so

many girl children are facing different kinds of problem

3. Churches are closed, so women are finding difficult to

get mental support from leaders of church women.

4. Wives and children of drug addicts needs prayers

5. Child labourers.

Kindly keep all these matters in your prayers.

We assure our prayers and blessings to Mother's Union in the

diocese of Bath and Wells.

With Regards. Dr. J Jasmine Alley

4

We were called to

Rejoice & Praise the Lord. And we did! Our Special Thanks to Portishead

Deanery who, on Thursday 19th August, lead us in the

1st Worship within the Cathedral since February 2020.

5

Thought for the Month

Most of you know by now that I love talking to people. I have no difficulty at all in striking up a conversation, or indeed in responding to those who talk to me. Some of the best conversations I have had were on the local bus during the year I was bereft of

my driving license… after a head in-jury, I might add, not for any misde-meanors on my part! One of the most interesting conversations was with someone who sat beside me, and out of no-where asked, “Do you know any-thing about God?” I was surprised. There was nothing about me to suggest that I might…. no dog-collar, no badges… not even a Mothers’ Union brooch. But I answered that person’s questions as best I could, and we parted at the bus station to go about our own business, not expecting to meet again. However, by chance…coincidence? God-incidence? … we both caught the same bus back, and the conversation continued. Just before she left I asked her why she had asked me in particular, out of all the people on the bus, and her answer knocked me backwards.

“I thought I could see God in your eyes,” she said. Well, how am I supposed to respond to that? I think I probably blushed scarlet. She got off the bus, so no answer was required. But food for thought? Yes!

There are many people who I love and respect, and in whom I can see something of Jesus, simply because of the way they are. They never seem to lose their tempers or get angry. Their speech is always wholesome, usually gentle. They are encouragers. They radiate love…love of God, and love of the people he has made. Oh how I wish I could be like them! This is the mistake that so many of us make. I’m not like so-and-so, who appears to be a paragon of

6

virtue…so I’m no good. I cannot do what somebody else does so I am of no use. I am physically incapable of doing some things, so I’m past my use-by date, let alone my sell-by date. But in God’s economy, this is absolute nonsense. He loves us and uses us as we are, not as we would like our-selves to be. The Apostle Paul puts it like this:

For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness”, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

It’s a bit of a complicated sentence, but what it means in essence is that if we are Christians, i.e. we have the Holy Spirit within us, then the light of the Spirit is going to shine out of us, because the Holy Spirit cannot be contained. And the fact that we are still fallible human beings only makes that light shine more brightly, because it is such a contrast to its surroundings. Paul goes on to say,

But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. Clay jars were used to store every-thing in Bible times, and they wore out. Cracks appeared in them, their contents

became visible and spilled out. Can you imagine us, ordinary people, being like those cracked clay jars? We are not per-fect, we fall short in all manner of ways, but the light of Christ shines out through the cracks. We don’t make it hap-pen. It’s an unconscious process for us. If the light of the Holy Spirit, the Light of Christ is in us, that light will show, because it’s God’s work, not ours. So the next time someone asks you to tell them about God, and you wonder why they should think you know any-thing at all, remember this. What others see is the Light of Christ shining out through the cracks, and there is nothing you can do either to bring it about or to stop it. All we can do is thank God and do the best we can.

Revd Wendy

7

Projects supported in Bath& Wells Diocese So far in these monthly newsletters we have looked at the

following projects:

Craft - Knitting: Support for Refuges: Child Contact Centres:

Modern Day Slavery - Clewer: Period Poverty:

This month we review the Student Cookbook

Pam Cavallini tells us that 12 years ago

Bath MU compiled a Student Cookbook pri-

marily for students of Bath and Bath Spa

Universities. Since then they have had a

presence at both Universities Fresher Fairs.

Originally, Students were given a choice of

hard back book or website card enabling the

book to be accessed from the MU Bath & Wells

website. As well as recipes and helpful hints

encouraging students to share shopping and meals, the book

gives information about MU and useful local websites, includ-

ing Citizens Advice, Health & Wellbeing, Samaritans and the

National Debt line. The card detailed the MU website address

and had information about Mothers’ Union on the reverse.

In 2020 Vrtual Fresher Fairs were introduced together

with a 'goodie' bag of information for each student, so a

'new' double sided A5 leaflet was compiled; 2,500 for each

University plus an additional 500 mixt of hard copy cook-

books and website cards for Bath Uni.

During 2020 there were 512 hits on the website (2,684 in

2019) by cookbook users but it is not known how many of

those were new users or return users. Many thanks go to

Derek Mahony for setting up and administering the site and

providing the information about users.

It’s exciting that Freshers Fayres are taking place this year

at both Bath and Bath Spa Universities. 7000 Student Cook-

ery Book leaflets will be handed out or distributed into Stu-

dent Bags.

MU will continue to distribute the A5 leaflets at Fresher's

Fayres, while exploring possible more appropriate ways to

support the students.

8

Mothers’ Union Autumn Retreat 2021

Theme: Celtic Saints

Venue: The Ammerdown Centre,

Date: Wednesday 13th – Friday 15th October

Conductor: Rev Wendy Mitchell

Price: £300 including deposit –

The Shirley Penn Memorial Retreat Fund is

now available for Bursaries.

Price for non-resident attendees tbc.

Open to: MU members, Diocesan Readers and friends.

The Retreat will include extended periods of silence.

We are living with Hope and Confidence and therefore

asking those who have shown an interest in the Retreat to

send in their deposit. Ann is waiting for an operation so

please send any finance to Ann Cattermole c/o MU Office,

Flourish House, 2, Cathedral Park, Wells BA5 1FD or

15, Stoney Stile Way, Wells BA5 2NS.

Last Call for the Retreat

Please contact

Madeline Hellier - 07967 961751

As Mothers’ Union members we have promised to

Maintain a Worldwide Fellowship of Christians

United in Prayer, Worship and Service