Leader Anne Harris opened the meeting with our usual time of worship.

Following this there were several notices and a letter received from Sue Chrestan thanking us for donations of toiletries for the homeless.

We still collect toiletries for the homeless and for young mums with babies and this generosity is much appreciated.

Anne then introduced Elizabeth Kearney, whose talk was The History of the Mothers’ Union.

Elizabeth gave a very comprehensive report on the progress of the Mothers’ Union from its beginning in 1876 to the present day. From the humble beginning when Mary Sumner formed a group of young mothers, the growth of the MU was quite remarkable.

It is clear from the list of dates given by Elizabeth, that milestones were reached every 2 years or so, e.g. first branch abroad in 1886 in New Zealand; 1889 Queen Victoria was President; 1889 branch opened in India etc. the list of publications was also impressive - service books, prayer books, magazines, etc. It was noted that the Millenium Prayer Book contains a prayer written by our own Jackie Hawkeswood. The activities of the MU are diverse and the organisation is now world-wide with over 4 million members.

Anne thanked Elizabeth for her talk and presented her with a plant.

N.B. The branch is responsible for a Bric-a-Brac stall at the Deanery Coffee Morning on 14th November at Norton. Any donations for this would be appreciated.

The next meeting is on October 1 at 12 noon when our speaker will be Linda Eggins with “Better than Christmas Day”. Following Linda’s talk lunch will be served.