St. Paul's Mothers' Union: Report for 2007
The Mothers' Union theme for 2007 was "Faith in Action" and the year began with our 'Wave of Prayer' on 6th February followed by our Branch AGM held in the Church Hall on 13th February after a splendid fish and chip supper. The Branch Committee was elected with Carole Christensen (Chairman), Rita Jones (Treasurer), Jean Beckett/Joan Ford (Joint Secretary), Iris Dickens (Hospitality Co-ordinator) and Doreen Roberts (Speaker Co-ordinator).
Our MU Diocesan Festival Service was held at St. Philip's Cathedral on 10th March when the installation of the new President, Margaret Fulford, and Trustees took place, including our Chairman as Faith and Policy Unit Co-ordinator. Our branch meeting also took place on 10th March and was a very special evening when we were wonderfully entertained by Mr. Les Postlethwaite who gave a talk and slide show on Worcester Cathedral.
Members enjoyed an evening of 'Favourite Readings and Music' on 17th April and our table top sale fundraising event on 28th April achieved the excellent result of £355.
At our meeting on 15th May, Mrs. Jacqueline Eldred gave us a very interesting account of her experiences in Papua New Guinea and her work with leprosy sufferers. It was a surprise to learn that cannibalism was still practised and the fact that larger persons were preferred was a real incentive to our Chairman to lose some weight!
June 9th was our MU Diocese 'Quiet Day' held at the historic Aston Parish Church centre: the theme was 'Healing and Reconciliation'. The day, led by Carole Christensen and our friend and regular contributor Sue Langley, proved a great success. The event concluded with a lovely service of healing presided over by the MU Chaplain, Revd. Canon Michael Caddy, and led by our previous MU Chaplain, Revd. Val Hicks.
The branch meeting on 19th June was one of fellowship and discussion for members owing to our planned speaker, Revd. Canon Jemima Prasadam, being unable to attend. On 28th June, our Edgbaston Deanery Festival took place at St. Michael's, Bartley Green, the parish church of our new Deanery Co-ordinator, Mrs. Vivian Cooney.
July 17th was the day of our annual outing when we visited Lichfield Cathedral for a guided tour followed by lunch at the Chapter House, and then free time in Lichfield: a really enjoyable day for all despite the inclement weather. The 'Family Fun Day' was held on 9th August (Mary Sumner Day) at Hodge Hill when our Deanery table raised £131 towards the total raised of £1,258 and the event concluded with a service of worship led by Carole Christensen and at which the sermon was given by our Chaplain and included an address by our President.
As usual, there was no branch meeting in August and it was decided not to hold a fund raising event in September because of heavy commitments including our Branch Chairman commencing Ordination training. At our meeting on 18th September, we were delighted to welcome our Vicar, Revd. Mike Sermon, to give a follow up talk on 'Personality and Prayer' based on Myers Briggs personality types: a most thought provoking evening.
Anthony Page gave us some interesting insights into the history of Blackheath on 16th October and on 18th October our Diocesan 'Quiet Evening' was held at the church of St. James the Great in Shirley and attended by some sixty people. Revd. Simon Mackenzie gave an inspiring talk on 'Icons as Images of Worship' and brought along some wonderful examples on which to reflect.
November 20th was a fellowship evening where final preparations for our December meeting were discussed. Then, of course, our final event of the year was our Christmas meeting on 18th December when we enjoyed a delicious glass of wine followed by an excellent three course Christmas Dinner catered for by Anddor. Committee members led our traditional after dinner readings and carols with our good friend, Les Postlethwaite, at the piano: a lovely evening in good company with which to round off our year.
It's been a year of 'Faith in Action' for St. Paul's MU as the Committee and members have worked faithfully in supporting our Branch, Diocese and our Church. Though a small branch, St. Paul's remains a stalwart and greatly respected branch membership: in addition to Carole Christensen as a Trustee and unit co-ordinator, Denise Woolley has taken over co-ordination of collections in the Edgbaston Deanery and Handsworth for our Birmingham & Solihull Women's Refuge project and Doreen Roberts continues to support the Overseas arm of Birmingham MU. Our members are active in supporting the 'Faith & Policy' Unit MU emergency prayer group and the newly formed prayer ministry for those suffering long term or chronic illnesses. In addition, our members are very active at St. Paul's in flower arranging, cleaning, providing children's activity bags and participating in the gentle and much appreciated Friday morning prayer service.
A sincere 'thank you' to all members and friends who have supported our efforts in 2007 and we look forward to welcoming new members in 2008 when we make 'Time for Relationship'.
Jean Beckett
Joint Branch Secretary: St. Paul's MU
