HAPPY NEW YEAR

It’s a new year.  2025.   Today marks the beginning of a new triennium for the Mothers’ Union.  We have a new worldwide president in Sis Kathleen Snow.  A new Board of Trustees drawn from members all over the world and a new theme, Join us and Join In.

I became a member of the Mothers’ Union in 2014.  In 2015 the theme was Faith in Action.  It was a bold theme which called on members worldwide to put their faith into tangible action.  Showing our faith at work in our communities.   This was followed by Transformation Now! That was a theme which went on for quite some time and I think it was to encourage us as an organization to embrace change and become more activist in our outreach and ministry while at the same time never forgetting that we are God’s people chosen to minister to persons in whatever situations in which they found themselves.

Transformation Now saw the Mothers’ Union taking bold action with its RISE UP campaign against domestic and gender based violence.  It showed the world that the Mothers’ Union was not going to be an organization that sat idly by while atrocities are being committed.   In Transformation Now we were invited to transform ourselves, our churches and our communities.  As I look back on 2024 I wonder whether we have been able to do that?

As we enter into 2025, our theme of Join Us and Join In brings us to a new path. We are being asked to continue the work that we started with our Faith in Action, the transformation of ourselves and to now invite others to walk alongside us to make the world a better place for everyone.  Are we ready to do this?

As with many organisations in the Church, the Mothers’ Union is faced with dwindling numbers.  It’s a challenge to have younger members of our congregations, (in some cases we don’t even have younger members) become a part of us.  It is even more challenging to have organisations align with us as we seek to make changes within our communities.  For some of us ministry and outreach has become a challenge.   The lack of participation in events.   The disinterest that permeates our branches and the financial challenges of tackling what ails our communities is something that every single Mothers’ Union branch is feeling.  My Sisters and Brothers how do we overcome this inertia?  How do we overcome the challenges that not only face the Mothers’ Union but also the Anglican Church as a whole?

I don’t have the answers to these and I am sure many other questions, but I believe this year as we reach out with our hands across the world we do so in prayer and fasting among ourselves.  We should set aside time where we meet as branches and groups to study God’s word together.  To pray together.  To fast together.  To speak openly and honestly with each other.  For those of us who are in positions of leadership and feel that we are burdened by the challenges of leadership, maybe it’s a time to step back and think to ourselves that maybe we need to take a break and allow someone else to take the yoke of leadership for 2025.

I will leave with a personal note. During this year, I will be taking a step back from all things Mothers’ Union.  I will not abandon this organization as it has brought me to life.  What I will do and I think what most of us should do is look around us and see whether there is anyone amongst us who we can mentor.  As Kathleen Snow said, Join us and Join in can mean a lot to different people.   Find a young member of the Church and have a cup of tea or coffee or a glass of lemonade.  Find out where their interest in ministry lies and see what you can do to encourage that person.

In closing I take this opportunity to wish each and everyone of you a Happy and Blessed New Year. May God’s Grace continue to shine upon each of you as you minister throughout this year.

Karen