MOTHERS UNION SUTTON DEANERY

Transcription

1 MOTHERS UNION SUTTON DEANERY MINUTES of a Meeting held at St Barnabas Church, Sutton on Wednesday 2 nd October 2013 at 10.30am, following Morning Prayer at 10.00am to which all were invited to attend 1. Welcome & Mothers Union Prayer Janice Clarke welcomed everyone, especially those attending their first deanery meeting and stressed that deanery meetings were for all members, not just branch officials. She then led the meeting in the Mothers Union Prayer. 2. Attendence Janice Clarke Humphrey Clarke Ann Squirrell Marian Bonser Cathy Brown Jenifer Davison Pearl Essex Karin Evans Monica Grant Kerry Guest Kathy Hutchings Sheila Lowe Beryl Noble Phyllis Sanders Pam Smith Gwen Whiting Kathy Wright Deanery Leader Deanery Secretary Joint Vice President, Croydon Area St Dunstan s, Cheam St John s, Belmont St Oswald s, Cheam St Oswald s, Cheam St Dunstan s, Cheam St John s, Belmont 3. Apologies for Absence Holly Smedley Norma McKnight Sheila Armstrong Mandy Campbell Carole Cairns Janet Little Barbara Scott Mary Shepherd Sally Steele Pam Vernon Deanery Treasurer Joint Vice President, Croydon Area Deanery Member Trinity, Wallington St John s, Belmont St Dunstan s, Cheam A sympathy card was later sent to Sheila Armstrong, whose husband had recently died and who was at present in hospital. Mothers Union Sutton Deanery Minutes of Meeting 2 nd October 2013 Page 1 of 7

2 4. Minutes The Minutes of the Meeting held on 15 th February 2013 were approved and signed. 5. Matters arising from the Minutes There were no matters arising from the Minutes. 6. Deanery Leader s Report Janice Clarke reported that she had seemed to have been very busy during the previous few months. She went to a Deanery Leaders Training Day on 14th March. She was enrolled as Deanery Leader on 8th April at St Dunstan s at a very lovely service. She helped organise prayers in Harvard Chapel on 24th April lead by Sutton Deanery. She was at Play not Pay MU Meeting for mums & children under 10 on 11 th May (lots of fun). She went to the Deanery Synod on 16th May and spoke to clergy who do not have MU branches. She went to the enrollment of 5 new members at on 2 nd June. She went to luncheon at St Dunstan s on 3 rd June. She was at the Deanery St Barnabas Day Service at St Barnabas on 11 th June. She went to the MU General Meeting in Bath on 12 th June and sent a report to all Branch Leaders. She went to a talk at Trinity about reconciliation with criminals on 24 th June. She went to St Dunstan s Coffee Morning for Sutton Women s Refuge on 19 th July and talked to non members about MU. She was at a Deanery Leader s Training Day on 1 st October. 7. Deanery Treasurer s Report In her absence, the Deanery Treasurer s report was presented by Humphrey Clarke who summarised the main points which the Holly Smedley had made in her report which had been circulated with the Agenda for the meeting. Donations had been made to the MU Overseas Fund ( 100), the MU Relief Fund ( 100) and the Southwark MU Diocesan Fund ( 80). Funds in hand were It was agreed that the Deanery Subscription should remain at 50p per member for Holley Smedley had now gone back to work again and had indicate that she wished to resign. No member present at the meeting was able to volunteer to take in the role so Janice asked all branch leaders to ask members at their next meeting to see if anyone would be willing to take on the job of Deanery Treasurer which is not very onerous mainly banking 7 subscription cheques received from branches in the deanery and the offertory at deanery services, paying deanery expenses (postages, cards, etc) and sending donation cheques to MU funds plus completing the Diocesan annual Receipts & Payments Form for which help can be given, if necessary. Branch Leaders to advise names to Janice before the next Deanery meeting. Mothers Union Sutton Deanery Minutes of Meeting 2 nd October 2013 Page 2 of 7

3 8. Action & Outreach This year s Deanery Projects have been:- Making emergency wash bags for St Helier Hospital - 24 bags had so far been sent to St Helier. Members at the meeting handed Janice contents for some more bags. Blankets with teddies for premature babies at Mayday Hospital. 6 had been present to Norma McKnight at the MU General Meeting in Bath on 12 th June and a further 16 were presented to Ann Squirrell at the meeting. Next year s Deanery Project will be Sutton Women s Refuge. Karin Evans gave a very impassion talk about Sutton Women s Refuge. She stressed that most women arrive that Refuge with not much more than the clothes they were wearing and, to try and ensure they were safe from abusive partners, they were usually from other parts of the country. The women and their children normally stay in the refuge for between six months and year. There is a need for:- Toiletries New Underwear Ladies Clothing Children s clothes (Girls 2-12, Boys 1-11) Newborn Items:- Baby food, baby milk, Moses baskets, cot blankets Shoes (in very good condition) Towels & Bedding (in good condition) Prams/Buggies Toys. Children s books. Children s DVD s, outdoor toys, bikes/trikes, etc. Car Seats Food Stuffs - tins, tea, coffee, dried food: rice, cereal, pasta, etc. as well as money as its funding source is due to dry up next year. For those wishing to learn more, St Dunstan s have given members of all branches in the deanery an open invitation to attend their branch meeting on Monday 4 th November 2013 at 2.00pm at St Dunstan s Hall, which is behind St Dunstan s Church in Cheam Village. [Bus 213 or 151; alight at Cheam Broadway. St Dunstan s is at the end of Church Lane which is just past the War Memorial and the Library]. 9. Indoor Members Prayer Circle (IMPC) Pam Vernon had resigned as Deanery Representative and, as agreed, a card of thanks was sent to her the next day. Kathy Hutchings volunteered to be her replacement and this was agreed. It was also agreed to send each member birthday and Christmas cards from the Deanery with a letter of Mothers Union and Deanery news as well as involving them in a Deanery Prayer Circle. Branch leaders were asked to give Janice details as and when they wished any persons to be prayed for. Mothers Union Sutton Deanery Minutes of Meeting 2 nd October 2013 Page 3 of 7

4 10. Prayer & Spirituality Cathy Brown & Pam Smith, the Deanery Prayer & Spirituality representatives, had been present at most MU Midday Prayers in the Harvard Chapel on the 4 th Wednesday of each month. They prepared the prayers for 24 th April when it was Sutton Deanery s turn to lead them. The prayers were read by Shirley Tillman, Sheila Collis, Janice Clarke, Cathy Brown & Pam Smith. All members are welcome to attend each month s prayers at 11.45am on the 4 th Wednesday of each month. Obituaries of members in the Deanery read during Midday Prayers were:- April: Christine Underdown June: Mary Shepherd s mother Janice said that when branches wished members obituaries to be read at the Cathedral MU Mid Day prayers they should advise her and let her have a copy of the tribute which would also be included in the Book of Remembrance. This will then be forwarded to the Diocesan President. Branches will be given a date so they can advise those of their members and the family who may wish to attend. The names of those members are also read out each year on their anniversaries. Following the meeting advised Janice of one obituary. 11. Any Other Business Deanery Services in 2014 (a) Epiphany Service: It was decided not to have an Epiphany Service in 2014 as there is a Diocesan Advent Service ay Croydon Minster in December 2013 and St John s Belmont s Centenary Service will be in February (b) Lady Day Service: As St Mary s Beddington are in an interregnum at the moment, St Dunstan s, Cheam offered to invite the Deanery to their Lady Day Service on Tuesday 25 th March. Beryl Noble will confirm details with Janice in due course. Janice suggested that the deanery branches should help with cakes, etc for the refreshments afterwards so that that does not all fall on St Dunstan s members. Talk by Rosemary Kempsell, past World Wide President about her time as WWP. Janice had spoken to Rosemary Kempsell who was agreeable to come and talk to all MU members in the deanery. Beryl Noble offered to ascertain the St Dunstan s Hall. After the meeting Beryl ascertained that it is available on Thursday evenings and most Tuesday and Friday evenings and there is room for 50 people. At the next meeting we will decide on a possible date, about refreshments, and perhaps inviting clergy in churches in the deanery who do not have MU Branches and also having a collection of money and goods that evening for Sutton Women s Refuge. St John s, Belmont Centenary Monica Grant reported that her branch would be having a special Eucharist Service in St John s Church on Sunday 23 rd February 2014 at 9.30am to celebrate their centenary. All MU members in the deanery are invited to attend and they are asked to bring their branch banners. There will be cake and wine afterwards. Please put this date in your next year s programme and advise all members. Mothers Union Sutton Deanery Minutes of Meeting 2 nd October 2013 Page 4 of 7

5 Branches Programmes for 2014 Janice asked that, as and when each branch s programme for the year is fixed, to let her have a copy. Could branches please indicate any special meetings which are open to everyone in the deanery so she can let other branches know. Using St Dunstan s Web Site for deanery Notices St Dunstan s now has its own website ( and it has agreed to allow the Deanery to post items of deanery news on it. An was read out from Melody Thorpe. She has recently set up the St Dunstan s MU website on which we are putting Deanery News. The web site is part of an aim to try and attract new/younger members and get more involved with the local community. Melody herself has only recently become involved with the MU as a new mum and she is still trying to understand more about the Mothers Union, its aims and how best we can try and attract more prospective members. She thinks part of the challenge is making the local MU more accessible - and thus the website. If she is interested in a club initiative, the first thing she does is to go online and do an online search on it - thus she is hoping that as she continually populates the website, people who are interested can access it and find out a bit more about Mothers Union. Also, as she has now returned to work full time she can t make any of the day time MU meetings but still would look like to hear about it and stay involved - the website hopefully will provide a means for that going forwards. She joked with another one of the younger mums in that we need a Marketing Strategy to attract new local mums! Things have changed since a lot of existing members joined the MU - there are a lot more working mums now, there used to be the young wives club but there isn t the equivalent now, people use social media to stay in touch rather than relying on meeting during the day, etc. It certainly is a challenge - and also it s a challenge for some of the existing members who maybe find this new stuff rather alien! It was also announced that the main Mothers Union website had recently be relaunched and can now be accessed at How to get more members/branches/parishes involved in MU Younger members (a) St Barnabas Sutton Branch do Mothers Union meetings about three times a year for Mothers and Children under 10 with a very short service for the children taken by the clergy followed by refreshments and a short Mothers Union linked activity. The next session is on Saturday 12 th October ( am) in St Barnabas Church theme Mothers Union on the Move. (b) St John s, Belmont do meetings for their younger members on social matters affecting people with children and teenagers. Monica Grant is going to give details of these meetings so that younger members from other branches can go to them. (c) Branch Janice had spoken to Kate Buckley, Deanery Leader in Croydon South, At her church they have a meeting for young members three times a year where they discuss business, prayers, ideas and fundraising projects. Those who cannot attend are sent a report of the meeting by . They do not have Mothers Union Sutton Deanery Minutes of Meeting 2 nd October 2013 Page 5 of 7

6 speakers. MU news is ed to them throughout the year. They pay one subscription which includes an amount for Families First. (d) MUMA (Mothers Union Mothers Active) Younger mothers meet in a home. They do a simple bible study in one room whilst the older, long established members look after the children in the other room. The Sutton Team Ministry already has a Young Mums Bible Study Group on Friday Mornings run by Catherine Keen. She has said that if only a few mothers from MU Branches wanted to do this they could join her group. Contact Janice in the first instance. Alternatively, if there was a larger group, a Deanery Young Mums Bible Study Group could be started and Catherine Keen is willing to give guidance as to where to obtain resources for the Bible studies. Churches in Sutton Deanery without an MU Branch In May, Janice spoke to clergy at the Deanery Synod who do not have MU branches. However, she did not think she did very well. There are no Mothers Union branches at the following churches:- Church Benhilton: All Saints Carshalton: All Saints Carshalton Beeches: The Good Shepherd Cheam: St Alban the Martyr Hackbridge & Beddington Corner: All Saints Saint Helier: St Peter Saint Helier: Bishop Andrewes South Beddington: St Michael & All Angels Roundshaw: St Paul Sutton: Christ Church Wallington: Elm Grove Centre Wallington: Springfield Church (EPP) Wallington: St Patrick Worcester Park:: Christ Church with St Philip (LEP) Notes Marian Bonser said that, since their new priest has arrived, the old MU banner had now been put on display; perhaps this means that they may be interested in re-opening the branch. Are there interested people who may wish to join St Dunstan s or St Oswald s branches? Pat Wilson from their congregation is a member of MU At the Deanery Synod, their female curate, who had been a missionary in India, was very impressed by the work the Mothers Union does there. A new curate, about to be moved to St Peter s from St Mary s Beddington for her second curacy, is also pro MU. Branch closed down some time ago. Shelia Collis is now a member of St Barnabas MU, Mary Shepherd - St Nicholas MU and Jean Carver is a Diocesan MU Member At the Deanery Leader s Training Meeting on 1 st October, Ann Wright said that Bishop Christopher, under his Faith, Hope & Love Initiative wanted the deaneries to have more influence and it was suggested that at least one Mothers Union member should Mothers Union Sutton Deanery Minutes of Meeting 2 nd October 2013 Page 6 of 7

7 attend Deanery Synod meetings to give the Mothers Union point of view when appropriate. NB: Anyone can attend Deanery Synod meetings and speak but only elected members can vote. All new members After the meeting Janice was asked how we could get new members to know all about MU. She said that, in Beeston in the Diocese of Southwell & Nottingham where her daughter was enrolled, the Branch Leader had all the new members round to her house to explain everything before they were enrolled. Perhaps we could discuss this matter at the next Deanery meeting with ideas from each branch? Other matters brought up Thanks were given for the safe return after kidnap of the Archbishop of Nigeria, Ignatious Kattley who is also Bishop of Niger Delta North Province, one of our linked dioceses. Two extra points which were not mentioned as time ran out Rosemary Kempsell told the Deanery Leaders that 123,000 people have received a certificate under the Literacy & Development Scheme. Sally Bramdaw (St Barnabas) has been writing copy letters to prisoners who do not receive any mail since a talk a Deanery Meeting in the 1990 s. She has been advised that she has now written 1,471 letters. This shows that the Sutton Deanery has made a positive contribution to making life better for the unloved. If anyone else would like to start copying such letters, please speak to Janice. 12. Dates for your Diaries Saturday 12 th October, 10.30am Diocesan Council Meeting at Croydon Parish Hall Tuesday 15 th to Thursday 17 th October Retreat: Wychcroft Saturday 19th October MU Fun Run: Richmond Park. For all details see:- and links from that website. Monday 4 th November, 2.00pm Talk about Sutton Women s Refuge at St Dunstan s Hall Thursday 7 th November MU Diocesan Quiet Day at St John the Baptist, Maiden Saturday 16 th November Spirituality Day: Southwark Cathedral Wednesday 4 th December Making Christingles: Westminster Abbey Thursday 12 th December, 2.30pm Advent Service: Croydon Minster Wednesday 5 th February 2014, 10.30am next Sutton Deanery Meeting at St Barnabas Church, Sutton (after Morning Prayer at 10.00am) Sunday 23 rd February 2014, 9.30am Eucharist to celebrate the Centenary of St John s Branch, Belmont. All Members of branches in the Sutton Deanery are invited. Please bring your own Branch banner. Celebratory cake and wine afterwards. 13. The Meeting was closed with Mid Day Prayers and the Grace. NB: Items in blue are not part of the Minutes but have been included as they are relevant to the subject matter. Mothers Union Sutton Deanery Minutes of Meeting 2 nd October 2013 Page 7 of 7