Activities

Spring Council 2025

Mothers' Union in the Diocese held their Spring Council in the Woodford Dolmen Hotel on Friday 11th April. It was lovely to see so many members in attendance and to have a representative from nearly every Branch in the Diocese

The day began with a service of Holy Communion led by the Diocesan Chaplain, Revd. Ger. James. It was a very fitting beginning to the days business. The newly appointed Diocesan President, Linda Ward, welcomed everyone to the meeting saying what a privilege it was to be elected to serve as Diocesan President of Cashel, Ferns & Ossory. It was a wonderful day of sharing Mothers' Union news, fun, laughter and fellowship. We were delighted to welcome the Revd. Janet Finlay to address the meeting after lunch. Revd. Janet is on the Management Committee of the Midland's Prison Visitors CeNtreand she told us all about the support they give to families when visiting loved ones in prison. She thanked Mothers' Union in the Diocese for all of thge support they have given to the Centre over the years and looked forward to maintaining that connection.

Tokens of appreciation were presented to some outgoing members of the Trustee Board ~ Valerie Power, outgoing Unit Coordinator for Action & Outreach, William Bayley, outgoing Unit Coordinator for Fundraising & Communication and Naomi Besanson, outgoing MUe representative.

ENNISCORTHY/MONART BRANCH CELEBRATIONS

120th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Branch

Enniscorthy and Monart Branch of Mothers’ Union held a service on the Feast of the Annunciation, 25th March, to celebrate 120 years since the foundation of the Branch. Records tell that the then Rector, Revd. H.C. Lyster, (later also Dean of Ferns) presided at the meeting and Mrs Lyster addressed the members.

The Branch has played an important role in the life Enniscorthy/Monart Group of Parishes and for many years until 1996, members, with the help of others, prepared and served lunch for members of the Ferns Diocesan Synod.

The service was conducted by the Rector, Revd. Canon Nicola Halford and the preacher was the Right Revd. Adrian Wilkinson. The Diocesan Chaplain of Mothers’ Union, Revd. Ger James, was also present and the Rector of Killanne/Killegney Union, Revd. Arthur Barrett. The Branch was delighted to welcome the

newly appointed Diocesan President, Linda Ward. Several members were presented with long service certificates and refreshments were served in the Church Institute after the service.

Well done to Claudia Kidd, Branch Leader, and all involved in planning this special service. It was lovely to have members of the Diocesan Choir leading the singing, Ger Griffin playing the organ and to see so many members from around the Diocese in attendance.

CFO Autumn Council

Cashel, Ferns & Ossory Mothers' Union held their Autumn Council in the Woodford Dolmen Hotel, Carlow on Saturday 26th October. As well as officers giving reports about all that is happening in All Ireland, Britain and the different Units it was a lovely social occasion. Everyone enjoyed meeting up in person and having a chat over morning coffee and lunch.

Lesley Bayley has now completed six years as Diocesan President and a presentation was made to her by the Diocesan Chaplain, Revd. Ger James, at the end of the meeting. Lesley stated that it had been her privilege to hold the position of Diocesan president fro the last six years during what had been a very busy six years with zoom meetings and face to face meetings both at Diocesan level and All Ireland and Britain level

Our "Big Hymn Sung" and Concert

in aid of "Mums in May" 2024

Thank you to everyone who bought a ticket in support of the Mums in May ‘Big Hymn Sing’ Concert which was held in Christ Church, Gorey on Mary Sumner Day, August 9^th.

It was a brilliant few hours of singing the 10 favourite hymns, picked by members from across the diocese, and we were joined by Lir Female Ensemble and the Arklow Shipping Silver Band, with Naomi Besanson our organist for the night.

Thank you to Archdeacon Mark Hayden and the parishioners of Gorey, for the use of the church, it really was a wonderful venue, as the acoustics are exceptional and made the singing and music even more powerful.

There was a great attendance and we raised a good sum of money for the Mums in May fund. Thank you also to those who travelled form other dioceses to support us – I feel confident in saying – it was well worth the trip to Gorey!

St. Colman's Church, Templeshanbo ~ Big Hymn Sing

A large congregation gathered in St. Colman's Church, Templeshanbo (Enniscorthy) for a "Big Hymn Sing" and to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of Killanne/Killegney branch. It was a wonderful occasion with great singing led on the organ by Margaret Jacob.

The service was conducted by Revd. Canon Trevor Sargent who has pastoral care of the Union, which is currently vacant. We were delighted too to welcome our Diocesan Chaplain, Revd. Ger James, and Revd. Redfern who is providing holiday cover in the Union for the months of May and June. The special preacher was Janet Crampton, a former Rector's wife and Branch Leader. Lessons were read by Janet Rothwell and Mynie Leech, prayers were by Lily Warren and Margaret Jacob, while Margaret James, Branch Leader, gave a brief history of Mothers' Union and the Killanne/Killegney Branch.

Long service certificates and flowers were presented to Joan and Iris during the service who have been enrolled for 60 & 58 years, and they also cut the celebration cake later on in the hall. We were blessed with a lovely fine day and everyone enjoyed refreshments in the parish hall after the service.

Spring Council 2024

The Spring Council took place in the Woodford Dolmen Hotel on Saturday 27th April. Lesley welcomed everyone to the meeting and gave an account of all of her activities since the last meeting. Reports were also given by the Unit Coordinators, Cecily Jones, Canon Trevor Sargent, Valerie Power and William Bayley.

Everyone enjoyed catching up over lunch.

The afternoon concluded with a Holy Communion service led by our Diocesan Chaplain, Revd. Ger James.

CFO Mothers' Union Harvest Festival

A large congregation gathered in St. Peter’s Church, Portlaoise on Sunday the 5th November at 3p.m., for the inaugural Mothers' Union Harvest Festival for Cashel, Ferns & Ossory Mothers' Union, where the guest speaker was Beverley Barbour, from the Methodist Church in Portlaoise. The service was led by the Diocesan President, Lesley Bayley, and the Unit Coordinator for Action and Outreach, Valerie Power.

Our thanks to Lesley for all of the time and effort she put into preparing for this service and to all those who contributed to the service and the refreshments.

Members/Branches were asked to produce a display for the church based on the hymn "Two little eyes"

Two little eyes to look to God,

Two little ears to hear His Word,

Two little feet to walk His ways,

Two hands to work for Him all my days.

One little tongue to speak His truth,

One little heart for Him now in my youth;

Take them, Lord Jesus, and let them be

Always obedient and true to Thee.

Getaway Weekend 2023

Ann Howard, Diocesan President of Kilmore, Elphin & Ardagh reflects on the Mothers’ Union Getaway Weekend October ’23. Valerie Power, Kathleen Rothwell, Linda Ward and Linda Condell from The Diocese attended the weekend

As Diocesan President, I’m so proud of how the members of KEA Mothers’ Union welcomed and helped to make this event a very memorable All-Ireland event. We were truly blessed to have so many gifted speakers and entertainers. It was headed up by Mrs Liz Greer and Mrs Wendy Halligan, assisted by Mrs June Butler, All Ireland President, and Mrs Hazel Spears, Action and Outreach All Ireland, Mrs Diane Stewart Young families represenatative (who also made book marks for us all) and our own KEA trustee body. Behind these great events there are a team of people preparing for weeks and months to ensure its’ success, and this event was no exception.

Mrs Melanie Douglas was a very powerful and moving lead speaker. She filled our hearts with love, joy and advice on ‘How to live an abundant life’. We were so blessed to have her join us for the weekend. It was also lovely to meet and get to know Ven Dr Stephen McBride, our All-Ireland Chaplain, and his wife Helen. Rev’d Richard Waller, our KEA chaplain, was our spiritual lead and was ever present for us all. My own talented sister-in-law Pauline Howard helped us relax and even laugh more by teaching us to dance and Leila Beattie with her chair exercises had us in stitches before we left for home. Our photos show our brilliant committee with guest speaker Melanie Douglas and some of the attendees from our diocese. The Hotel Kilmore, Cavan, were fantastic hosts, providing a welcoming and comfortable setting. We wish to express our deepest sympathy to the family of hotel owner, Mr Ross Mealiff, on his untimely passing.

2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work”.

Mary Sumner Day 2023

Wednesday 9th August

A large number of members gathered at The Rectory in Bunclody to enjoy a wonderful afternoon of fellowship organised by William Bayley, Unit Coordinator for Fundraising and Communication, and Valerie Power, Unit Coordinator for Action and Outreach, to celebrate Mary Sumner Day.

The afternoon began with a short service led by Revd. Ger James, Diocesan Chaplain, with readings and music by Revd. Canon Trevor Sargent, Unit Coordinator for Faith and Policy.

William organised a baking competition entitled “A Victoria Sponge with a Twist” and there were over a dozen entries for the competition. There was a great array of different cakes and they were judged by Revd. Ger, Canon Trevor, and guest judge Rebecca Allen. All the entrants were asked to give a brief description of their cake and what was the “twist”. The winning cake was made by Áine Neville and the unique ingredient she used in her recipe was “Earl Grey Tea”. Everyone enjoyed sampling some of the cakes after sandwiches and finger food served by a caterer.

We were blessed with a lovely fine afternoon and Lesley thanked Canon Trevor and his wife, Áine, for hosting the event in the idyllic grounds of the Rectory. Lesley also thanked members of Bunclody Branch for all their work in preparing for the afternoon’s celebrations.

Mary Sumner

Founder of Mothers' Union

The Sixteen Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence is observed by Mothers' Union members throughout Ireland.

From 25th November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10th December, Human Rights Day, the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign is a time to galvanize action to end violence against women and girls around the world. The international campaign originated from the first Women's Global Leadership Institute coordinated by the Center for Women's Global Leadership in 1991.

Prayer for Month of November

(From the Mothers' Union Website)

God of justice, God of mercy, God of healing, we acknowledge the pain and brokenness of our world.
We pray for those who suffer degradation and violence through gender based violence.

We pray for those whose minds are warped by the need to control and imprison others in a world of cruelty and violence as a means towards self-gratification.

Gracious God, we praise you that you are continually at work in people’s lives, challenging and convicting, transforming and restoring,

As Mothers’ Union members, embed deep in us the courage to step out in faith, to stand alongside the victims, to dare the risk of challenging the status quo by speaking up for those who cannot speak for themselves.
In the name of Christ.

Amen