Mothers' Union
Meet 4th Tuesday afternoon of every month
Contact: Shirley Earley Tel: 028 9084 2008
Meet 4th Tuesday afternoon of every month
Contact: Shirley Earley Tel: 028 9084 2008
Carnmoney Parish Mother's Union is a long established branch. The earliest mention of it is in the 1905 Annual Report for Down, Dromore & Connor (as they were then), and we are very proud that it continues to thrive today.
Currently we have 20 active members who meet in the Memorial Room at 2.30pm - 4.30pm on the 4th Tuesday of each month.
The Mother's Union is a worldwide charity bringing support and care for family life to the heart of every community, and works through 4 million members in over 83 countries.
We have a varied programme with lots of fun and fellowship, and afternoon tea, so please come along and take part, you will be most welcome.
The Mothers’ Union met on Tuesday, 30th September, when we were delighted to welcome Don Howe from Divine Healing Ministries.
Don gave a fascinating and inspiring talk about his personal journey of faith and the wonderful work carried out by Divine Healing Ministries. His words offered encouragement and insight into the ministry’s mission and achievements.
It was a most enjoyable and uplifting afternoon for everyone who attended.
The MU branch in Carnmoney parish celebrated its 120th anniversary at a service of Morning Prayer on Sunday 14th September. The service was led by the rector, the Revd Andy Heber, and the special speaker was Alison Skillen, Connor MU Diocesan President.
Also present were Valerie Ash, East Connor Area Chair, members of Connor MU Trustee Board, including Moira Thom, Diocesan Secretary, and Wendy Halligan, Action and Outreach Unit Coordinator, with former and present members and office-bearers of the branch.
The service was organised by Anne Campbell, branch secretary, and members of the committee in conjunction with the rector. She particularly arranged items representing various projects in which branch members are involved and had displays of these beneath some of the stained glass windows in church.
Anne also used small stones and candles in a short act of worship to illustrate a number of the branch’s outreach initiatives, such as knitting hats for seafarers and also for chemotherapy patients, knitting baby clothes and blankets for the Neo-natal Unit, items for Women’s Aid and Care Homes, and emergency packs of toiletries for the local hospital.
Taking as her theme ‘living stones’, referencing some verses from Joshus 4, Alison reminded present-day branch members that they were visible, living stones of MU called to keep alive its aims and objectives; to build firmly on the legacy and example of those who had gone before; and to be a strong foundation for the present and for those who will follow.
She commended members for their faithfulness, dedication and commitment and encouraged them to look forward with hope to the future, adding: “Continue to profess and proclaim…the unconditional love of God and live out your faith in practical action, service and prayer, as Mary Sumner did all those years ago.”
Following the service, a meal was served in the parish hall and a celebratory anniversary cake was cut. A bouquet of flowers was presented to Alison following the lunch. Alison Skillen
Thanks to the generosity of our MU Members, a delivery of 60 Emergency Toiletry Packs has been made to the A & E Dept. at Antrim Area Hospital.
As always, these packs were gratefully received by staff there on behalf of their patients. Also, staff at the Neonatal Department were pleased to receive 80 baby hats, cardigans and incubator blankets which were knit by our members and friends.
Very many thanks to everyone who supports us in these very worthwhile projects.
Our Mothers' Union outing on the 29th May was to St Patrick's church in Ballymena. The theme was "Puddings with a twist". We started with a very enjoyable quiz and this was followed by tea/coffee and a large variety of delicious puddings. We enjoyed our evening very much and the icing on the cake was Carnmoney MU winning the quiz.
Mothers' Union resumes in September and Carnmoney Parish Mothers' Union is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year. To mark this special occasion we are having a service on 14th September at 11am. Afterwards we are planning a lunch in the Church Hall.
More details will follow.
At Mothers Union March meeting our speaker was Helen Eccles, one of our members .
Helen entertained us with stories about her life - there was a lot of reminiscing and laughter and a great afternoon was had by all.
Helen you are a very talented storyteller and we thank you for sharing your story with us - we look forward to more stories in the future
Mothers' Union members had an enjoyable afternoon when Rev. Mark Reid, Chaplain to the Mission to Seafarers, came to tell us all about his work and the amazing work of this worldwide organisation, formerly known as The Mission to Seamen, which was established in Belfast in 1860.
Mark was pleased to receive our donations of hats, scarves, gloves and blankets, lovingly knit by our members and friends which will be greatfully received by the seafarers.
On Tuesday 28th January, Mothers' Union resumed for a new year with a lovely church service.
This was followed by our AGM and the announcement of our programme for the year. The Mothers' Union triennium theme is "Join in Join up" and we would encourage, and be delighted, to welcome new members to join us on the 4th Tuesday of each month at 2.30pm in the Church Hall.
Carnmoney Parish Mothers' Union Members enjoying a lovely Christmas meal at Corr’s on Tuesday 10th December. A great start to the Christmas festivities!
At our Mothers' Union meeting, on Tuesday 26th November, we made Christmas candle arrangements - these were judged by Alan Titchmarsh, aka Lorinda.
A great time was had by all and many thanks for Anne’s guidance and help.
Mothers' Union resumed after the summer break and we were welcomed back by Anne with a delicious afternoon tea followed by a beetle drive. We all enjoyed the fun and fellowship.
Any ladies that would like to join us would be most welcome.
Our Mothers' Union members have been busy over the past few months, buying items for emergency toiletry packs which are given to patients being admitted to hospital through A&E.
Our members have also been busy knitting baby items.
Today 60 emergency toiletry packs were delivered to A&E at Antrim Area Hospital and 100 baby hats, cardigans and incubator blankets were delivered to the Neonatal Department. The staff at both departments were delighted to receive these items on behalf of the patients and really appreciated these contributions.
The Mothers Union trip was to Killead Parish Church “St Catherine’s”.
We had a lovely lunch,followed by “Yarns from the Bible” - This was an exhibition of handcrafted knitted tableaux and patchworks depicting familiar scenes from the Bible.
The craftwork was amazing and we all enjoyed our afternoon very much.
On Tuesday 30th April our guest speaker at Mother's
Union was Eileen Roulston, who gave a very interesting and informative talk about her travels in South Africa. This was enjoyed very much by all the ladies.
Thank you Eileen