There is an active branch of the Mothers' Union at St Peter's Church 

Meetings are held on the 3rd Monday of each month at

7 30 pm in the Baptistery of St Peter's Church.

 All welcome  

For meetings in 2012 please see Church notice sheet

For more information go to

www.themothersunion.org

 or

 www.canterburyprovincemu.org.uk/birmingham

or email clmap18@gmail.com

 Membership of Mothers’ Union is open to all who believe in our objectives. 

We would be delighted to welcome new members.

Our Vision

Where faith is weak - we are called to strengthen

Where there is isolation - we are called to fellowship

Where the vulnerable suffer - we are called to protect

Where marriage is discredited - we are called to promote

When families fracture - we are called to support

Where relationship is needed - we are called to encourage

When communities hurt - we are called to heal

....................................................

Bishops and Bacon!

It was a great pleasure to entertain two visiting Malawian Bishops to breakfast during January.  Bishop Fanuel, from the diocese of Northern Malawi, and Bishop Fanuel, from Lake Malawi, were in the UK for a Conference at Lambeth Palace.  While here they took the opportunity of visiting Birmingham diocese with which they – and the other two dioceses in Malawi – are linked.  As I knew they had very active Mothers’ Union people in their dioceses I thought it a good opportunity for them to meet Mothers’ Union members from Birmingham.  So it was that 16 of us sat down in my home to a ‘full English breakfast’ as the saying goes.

We had invited the officers of Mothers’ Union (MU) and those responsible for work in prisons, parenting, etc.  After breakfast we all watched the DVD, What is Mothers’ Union?  which tells about MU work in Birmingham and then the Bishops told us something about the MU work in their own dioceses. 

Bishop Francis and Bishop Fanuel both expressed their thanks for the support of the Birmingham Malawi Partnership and the hospitality that they had been given while visiting UK.  Bishop Fanuel stated that he feels more an Anglican for the visit to the country from which the founders of the church in Malawi came.  They both emphasised how much the support from Birmingham is needed and appreciated, particularly the containers that are sent twice a year.

It was interesting for us to know that Bishop Fanuel was the first black Bishop for his diocese when he succeeded Bishop Christopher Boyle who was from Birmingham Diocese.  Since Mary Sumner House is no longer able to supply funds for a Mothers’ Union worker in Northern Malawi they had decided to go ahead and employ one and were confident they would be able to fund the cost.  A brave step but one that shows their faith in the effectiveness of Mothers’ Union workers. 

Bishop Francis stated that the parish contributions to the diocese had been low, but since becoming bishop contributions from the main parishes in Lilongwe had been successfully doubled.  He spoke of the effectiveness of a fund raising community, which has used bicycle riding, a mock wedding and dinner and lunches in people’s homes.  One Paper Sunday raised 8 million kwacha towards a girls' hostel in Mtunthama.

The Diocese of Birmingham has been linked with Malawi for over forty years.  During this time there has been a constant exchange of visitors in both directions.  Listening to the Bishops we realised how much we all gain from the Malawi Birmingham partnership.

Claire Laland, Malawi Task Group