AGM 2023

The Mothers Union of the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands held its Annual General Meeting at the Kendal Conference Centre in Manchester under the theme of Transformation - Now. The event was hosted by the Mandeville Region and saw members travelling from all parishes in Jamaica as well as from the Cayman Islands to participate in the first face to face, fully open AGM since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Under the leadership of Diocesan President, Mrs. L. Judith Spencer-Jarrett the meeting saw over 400 members of the Mothers Union celebrating and joining in fellowship with each other. Celebrant and Preacher was the Rt. Rev. Dr. Garth Minott, Bishop of Kingston.

In his sermon, Bishop G. Minott charged the members of the MU that in adopting the theme of Transformation Now, to look at themselves as servant leaders who are called to be good stewards and to be at the forefront of community building. Taking his message from the Book of Genesis, Bishop Minott encouraged the members to walk in holiness as we are created in God’s image and have already been covered in holiness. He also reminded the members that Transformation Now was a solution oriented approach to mission.

During the afternoon session, the MU for the first time at its AGM enrolled twenty-seven new members. These persons were from several branches across the Island and included 2 priests, Rev. Hilda Vaughn and Rev. Monecia Duncan. The enrolment was done by Bishop G. Minott.

Following the enrolment, each Regional President shared highlights of their activities over the past year. This was followed by the Treasurer’s Report and another first, the auditor’s report. A brief report from the Awards Committee was also given.

Then it was time for the Keynote Speaker for the Business Session. Mr. Owen ‘Blacka’ Ellis took the stage and immediately grabbed and held everyone’s attention. Using a lot of personal experiences, he spoke to the theme Transformation Now and noted that your initial circumstances do not have to dictate where you end up. He noted that whereas we cannot always determine the situations in which we may find ourselves, we determine how we FRAME our responses.

He then elaborated on how to determine that FRAME: Focus on what is important/do not be easily distracted; consciously Respond to situations in which we find ourselves/do not allow others to push our buttons; Approach everything in an orderly manner/our approach determines how others respond to us; Manage the way in which we interact with persons/reduce spending time with toxic individuals; and, our Expressions should always be Christlike/ represent Christ in all situations. He closed with a reference to the thief on the cross at Galgotha. He noted that the thief on the right chose to make it right with God and chose completeness in Christ. He invited us always to choose to be complete in Christ.