Lady Day Service
Our Lady Day service this year took place on Saturday 25th March, 10.30am at Holy Trinity Church, Blendworth.
The celebrant was the Revd Joy Windsor, Assistant Priest at Blendworth, Chalton, Idsworth and Rowlands Castle.
There were hymns, prayers and readings, a beautiful service.
After the final blessing we all moved to the back of the church where we enjoyed tea/coffee and cake and MU Cards were available to purchase.
A total of £146 was raised for the work of the Mothers’ Union.
April branch meeting
Seventeen members were present at our April meeting which was held in the large hall not the smaller room where our meeting are usually held as work was being carried out on this at the time.
Our meeting began with notices and Margaret read us part of a letter received from our Link Branch in Wentworth Falls, Australia.
A short service followed, with prayers, a bible reading and a hymn.
Our speaker was Rev Matt Grove, Curate at Christ Church, Portsdown. His subject was “Mission to Portugal and Easter Thoughts”.
He spoke about Faith and Sharing the Good News of the Resurrection which unites and differentiates us as a Faith.
He then told us a little about his early life, his work with the homeless while training, his volunteering with an addiction charity and his own coming to Faith.
Last summer he went, with a group, to a deprived neighbourhood in Lisbon, Portugal, helping at the Alta Christa Baptist Church at Charneca. The Pastor there is named Rui. He told us his motivation for going was that he felt inspired to share his faith with other people.
In pairs they spoke with people they met in the street and in cafés. Some were not interested, others happy to engage with them as they talked generally and about faith.
Some people had mixed or negative feelings about the Church and their group were able to provide a “listening ear” for their concerns.
In the areas Matt visited there was huge poverty as rising costs were affecting the poorest in society the worst, and there were problems with homelessness and addiction.
Portugal was a predominately Catholic country but now there is a decline in church attendance and an emergence of other faiths and atheism, with the church sometimes struggling to connect with people.
It was an Ecumenical mission and Matt was the only Anglican in his group.
Coronations, Past and Present
The theme at our May meeting was Coronations Past and Present. After the notices and a short service members discussed past coronations and showed items they had brought.
Amongst these there were souvenirs from the 1937 Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth – mugs, a plaque, even a sardine can opener and server. For the 1953 Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II – a tea towel and a special seat cushion from the occasion itself. Also a book “Elizabeth, Our Queen” written by the late Richard Dimbleby.
Molly had brought a King Charles III tin of shortbread, there was a King Charles 50p piece and Rosie had brought a new King Charles bear.
Everything was displayed on a table in the centre of the room.
Summer Tea Party
On Tuesday 6th June we welcomed guests including other Mothers’ Union branches, Waterlooville Baptist Fellowship Ladies, Union of Catholic Mothers and our Diocesan President, Felicity Keeping to our summer Tea Party.
Members had provided plates of various sandwiches and savouries, cakes and biscuits which we laid out “buffet style” and we brought round a trolley to each table serving teas and coffees.
There were stalls selling books, bric-a-brac, some plants and MU Merchandise. The first Christmas card packs were available! but no 2024 diaries till August.
We had a large raffle and a table quiz with Bible based questions. Our tea parties are always popular and as usual a most enjoyable afternoon.
Wave of Prayer
Six members were able to take part in our Wave of Prayer service at 11am on Friday 16th June in Christ Church, Portsdown.
We prayed for our Wave of Prayer links across the world and lit 5 candles, one for each: Bukavu in Congo, Nyahururu in Kenya, Gboko in Nigeria, New Guinea Islands in Papua New Guinea and for our own Diocese here in Portsmouth.
