MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT JEAN.

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1 DIOCESE OF LEEDS MOTHERS UNION, incorpora ng Episcopal Areas of Bradford, Huddersfield, Leeds, Ripon and Wakefield, linked in prayer with Lesotho (S.Africa), Kibungo (Rwanda), Etche, Ogbomoso (Nigeria), Hanuato o (Solomon Islands), Newsle er 7 April/May 2017 Charity No Dear fellow members, MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT JEAN. When you read this, we will have celebrated a special Lady Day with the dedication of our new banner and the new Indoor members book. Thank you to all those members who contributed to the cost of the banner by donating in memory of or on behalf of someone special in their lives. I recently attended the Annual General Meeting of the Union of Catholic Mothers in Leeds Cathedral. It was interesting to hear of their work and how they face the same challenges as we do in 2017.The members undertake many tasks in their own churches and raise money to help the poor in Peru but they are not a worldwide charity. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Leeds, Right Reverend Marcus Stock, gave an address saying that Christians must concentrate on taking the good news of Jesus out into their communities, with particular emphasis on engaging young people who can make a difference in the world through their faith. He also spoke of the need to develop leadership skills amongst all age groups including mothers and grandmothers. I thought of Mary Sumner as she grew in confidence when she began Mothers Union and of how we must all use our gifts in God s service. As we reflect during Lent and look forward to Easter, the time for remembering Christ s sacrifice for us on the cross and his resurrection, I think of the lines from Charles Wood s This Glorious Eastertide: Away with doubt and sorrow, Our faith had been in vain, but now has Christ arisen (1 Cor 15: 14) with love and blessings for a joyful Eastertide. Jean The Worldwide Council meeting in Dublin March 2017 I was privileged to attend a very special meeting of Worldwide Council in Dublin 12 th to 13 th March. Provincial Presidents from around the world came to Dublin to take part in a week of meetings but on 13 th March, all members of the Council, which includes Diocesan Presidents, voted unanimously to approve five resolutions to enable the new draft constitution for the central charity to be submitted to the Privy Council. The Constitution is a legal framework enabling the organisation to work effectively but the current constitution was first created 100 years ago. Revising it now is essential for Mothers Union to evolve in the future. Trustee boards across the world, including Leeds Diocese, have been involved in a long consultation process to reach this point. There will be more information about this in the future. Jean Thurman (Diocesan President)

2 You are invited to Diocesan Council Saturday 20 th May 2017 at St Chad s Church, Headingley, Leeds Time for 10.30am 2.30pm We welcome our Worldwide President, Lynne Tembey Meet Lynne and hear more about Mothers Union in 2017 First Annual General Meeting Faith in Action how do we make a difference? Our own members speak about the joy of volunteering. Anita Ruckledge MBE, will speak about her work. (Anita is the dementia lead nurse at Mid Yorks. NHS Trust. She set up the Forget Me Not Scheme to improve the quality of care for patients.) Mothers Union General Meeting Edinburgh 29/30 September 2017 Friday 29 September - Evensong at 5pm.(two venues). Saturday 30 September General Meeting Edinburgh International Conference Centre. Ripon Cathedral Golden & Diamond WERE YOU MARRIED IN 1967 or EARLIER? If you are celebrating your Golden Wedding or an even longer time together, Ripon Cathedral warmly invites you to share in this year s special service of Blessing, to renew your vows and to reflect on, and celebrate your many years of married life. GOLDEN WEDDING SERVICE 2017 Sunday 11th June 3.30pm. If you would like to apply for tickets to attend this unique service, regardless of where you were married or where you are now living, please send your name and address to: Mrs Linda Bennett, The Chapter House, Ripon Cathedral, Ripon, HG4 1QT. More details to be circulated later. The role of our General Trustees There are five General Trustees on the Diocesan Trustee Board, one elected from the members in each Episcopal Area. Their role is to take responsibility for specific aspects of our work when required to benefit the whole Diocesan Mothers Union and they all work very hard but not just for their own Area - for the whole membership. Sadly, Nicky Holliday, elected by members in the Ripon Area, resigned recently. Thanks go to Nicky for all that she contributed to the work of Mothers Union in both the Ripon & Leeds Diocese and since 2016, in the Diocese of Leeds. We now have a vacancy and I hope that role will be filled soon. The Trustee board has decided to appoint a General Trustee to link with some of the Teams so that there is better internal communication: Outreach Yvonne Hutson Prayer Sheila Crosby Membership Alison Boggie The Teams We are fortunate to have leaders for Prayer, Membership, Diocesan Services and MUe but we are still looking for a leader for the Communications Team. Andrea Green who has done a wonderful job since May 2016 leading the Outreach Team has decided to step down at the end of March so we thank Andrea and we now need a Team Leader. Please pray for people to come forward to take on roles. All help is appreciated to prevent those in post having such a big workload. Every one of us has gifts and talents and instead of pointing to others, we need to say YES, I can contribute. With God s help, we all can. Speak to your Area President or contact me if you can play a small role in the work we do. Jean Thurman ( Diocesan President).

3 Advanced notices for Ripon Episcopal Area! Cluster group meetings:- Skipton Cluster 5th June at Hellifield Institute. Harrogate Cluster 6th June at St. Andrew s, Starbeck. Ripon Cluster 8th June at Chantry Hall, Bedale. Ripon E.A. Mary Sumner Day Celebrations. Thursday 10th August The usual midday prayers in the Cathedral will be followed by a picnic on the grassy area by Canon Paul s house. All are welcome. Bring a deck chair and lunch. Josie Birley E.A. President. In memoriam of Barbara Dobson. A Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Barbara Dobson, a long serving Mothers Union member and former Branch Leader for many years at Swillington (E.A Leeds), was held on Friday 20th January. Barbara, who died on 31st December 2016 was 79 years old. Many will know Barbara s son, Dean John at Ripon Cathedral. Barbara also left two daughters and a further son plus grand and great grand children. She will be sadly missed by all who knew her. Marjorie Trimble Branch Leader Swillington. Reminder for Branch Leaders I would be most grateful if Branch Leaders could pass on the details of any new members to me so that I may send them letters of welcome. I can be reached on or at shirleypaynes@talktalk.net. Many thanks to all those Branch Leaders who have responded to date. Shirley Paynes.New Members Representative. April 2017 Palm Sunday Maundy Thursday Good Friday Easter Day FORTHCOMING DATES. 9 April. 13 April 14 April 16 April Diocesan Quiet days at Parcevall Hall April. DID YOU KNOW there is a small cluster of Diocesan Members who have begun to meet together informally three times a year? The meetings have, so far, taken place in the Wetherby area, due to the number of Diocesan Members who live there, and have included a relaxed evening in a gastro pub ahead of the busy Christmas period, where we chat over a delicious meal and, most recently, we were thrilled to welcome fellow Mothers Union member Jane Newsome, who shared with us her inspiring story of her challenge to climb Table Mountain in South Africa to raise money for the MU Away from it all scheme. We have three future diaries dates to share with you: Tuesday 20 June 2017: Prayer Walk to Spofforth. Meet 7.30pm at St. James Church, Church Street, Wetherby, LS22 6SD. Tuesday 26 September 2017: An MU Project. 7.30pm at St. James Church, Church Street, Wetherby, LS22 6 SD. Tuesday 23 January 2018: A Meal at the Swan & Talbot, 34, North Street, Wetherby, LS22 6SD. We extend a warm welcome to anyone who would like to join us on any of these dates. Fiona Jones (fi.jones@ntlworld.com) Debbie Peacock (doug.debbie@btinternet..com) May 2017 Diocesan Council Meeting - Saturday 20 May at St. Chad s, Headingley, Leeds - 10am to 2.30pm. June 2017 Deadline for June/ July edition is 14 May Thank you Carol. cmdaley40@gmail.com Intercultural Marriage Day - Saturday 17 June at Harrogate Grammar School.

4 Knitting and Purling to Keep Warm at St Mary s Whitkirk Earlier this year one of our members noticed an item in the press asking people to put their efforts to a good cause by knitting a scarf for victims of fuel poverty. The Green Doctor service comes under the umbrella of the Groundwork Charity which operates in North, East and West Yorkshire. The Green Doctor service provides support, information and advice on how to keep warm, use less energy and save money. And it s all completely free! When the Green Doctors visit the homes of those wanting help they leave a parting gift of a knitted scarf. Ah-ha, thought our branch members we could provide the knitted scarves. Groundwork and Green Doctors were invited to come and speak at one our meetings when we could then present to them scarves that members had knitted. Members rallied to the cause, put their faith into action, and we were able to give 50 scarves to the Green Doctors for them to pass onto those they help. The photos show just some of the scarves knitted. To qualify for the Green Doctor service please contact your local Green Doctor on or greendoctorleeds@groundwork.org.uk to find out more. Marsha Thorndike. Branch Leader. Marsha Thorndike (Branch Leader) Congratulations to Joan Peel, celebrating her 50th anniversary as a member with a celebratory cake, at our February meeting. Melissa Wood. Branch Leader St. Peter s Rawdon. Celebrating Marriage Week at St Mary s Garforth Mothers Union. This year we celebrated it by holding a Wedding Breakfast. A former branch leader, Lynda Webb came in her wedding dress so was allotted pride of place in between our Rector Rev Gordon Cooper, who said Grace for us and Neil Hampshire, who regularly helps us by playing the piano when necessary. The menu consisted of Melon, followed by Turkey Breast, Roast Potatoes, Carrots and Peas, followed by a choice of three desserts. We ended with Lynda cutting the cake, to have with a cup of tea, then a toast to the future of Mothers Union. Instead of the normal speeches we had our prayers, followed by a short comparison of marriage to the relationships of Mothers Union, together with the letter from our Diocesan President Jean Thurman covering subscriptions, her thanks and that of our Patron the Queen last year. This was done to give a taste of what we do to the guests we had invited, possible future members, together with table displays on marriage and Mothers Union. On 14 th March we are having our inaugural evening meeting, which will be an informal forum to discuss the best day and time to have our meetings along with what we propose to have at our meetings. We envisage that younger ladies will appreciate meetings which have current themes within supporting marriage and family life, things that can help them in daily life as well as some being part of our projects both here and abroad. To this end we shall give them a copy of the new Labelled for Life and a Rough Guide to Mothers Union. The Committee will also be prepared to answer any questions on our branch and MU in general. Margaret Bentley Branch Leader.

5 An Easter Prayer God our Heavenly Father, we marvel at your sacrificial love; the giving up of your beloved Son in a costly act of redemption which brought life to our hearts and eternal hope to the world. (This prayer is taken from the Faith in Action prayer material on the Mothers Union website mothersunion.org It s a good place to look for inspiration if you are asked to help with prayer at any time.) PRAYERFUL POINTERS for April & May please hold these days in your prayers Time for Reflection April 25 th -27 th at Parcevall Hall. Diocesan Council May 20th International Day of Families May 14 th The feedback forms from the Wave of Prayer Service are flooding in but it s not too late if you have not quite got round to it yet. Easter Blessings from the prayer team. Time spent in PRAYER Is never wasted. Hilary Fielding. On behalf of all the Chaplains, I wish you all a blessed Lent and Holy Week and a joyful Eastertide. Peter Townley Diocesan MU Chaplain. Embracing Difference A look at intercultural marriage and relationships. The Diocese of Leeds Mothers Union Conference. A day conference to encourage awareness Of the riches and challenges of inter-cultural rela onships, Marriage in par cular, in our diverse and mul -faith society. SATURDAY JUNE 17TH 10am. To 3.30pm. Speakers Rev d Toby Howarth Bishop of Bradford. Rev d Henrie e Howarth Mrs Janet Frazer-Smith Author of Love across la tudes. Speakers in the morning, workshop and panel discussion in the a ernoon. Harrogate Grammar School, Arthurs Avenue, Harrogate HG2 0DZ For further details contact Pat Ainsworth