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What we do

"Mothers’ Union are the heart and love of the Church"
The Most Reverend Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury

What is Mother's Union?

Mothers’ Union is a Christian organisation that has been supporting families worldwide for over 140 years. Started by our founder Mary Sumner in 1876 in her local parish, we have grown into an international charity with over 4 million members in 84 countries.

As a Christian membership charity, we demonstrate our faith in action. This happens as we work towards stopping poverty, stopping inequality and stopping injustice. Our members work at grassroots level around the world. They bring hope and practical support to millions of people every year through parenting, literacy and community development programmes.

What does the central charity do?

As a registered charity we have campaigned at local, national and international levels to bring about real change for family life, women’s and girls’ rights, and the protection of children.

We also support our members within the UK and across the world with a vast collection of practical and religious resources. In addition, we produce regular publications to keep members in Britain and Ireland informed and up-to-date with what's happening both oversees and closer to home.

Since the lockdown of 2020 we have been very active on digital channels and social media. This includes broadcasting midday prayers live on our Facebook Page which has had an increasing audience as the word has spread. We also run a monthly e-Newsletter, featuring a round up of current events and stories from across the movement.

What drives us to do the work we do?

At the heart of what we do is prayer and our members come together every day at midday to focus prayers for their communities, fellow members and for those in need. We believe that the power of prayer is transformational and supports our work around the world.

Despite our name we are an inclusive organisation and we are very proud to have a growing number of men who have joined us.

As we continue to work in an ever-challenging world, why not join us in our journey and be a part of something life-changing?

Mothers' Union, One Vision

Watch our video to find out more about how our shared vision manifests itself in very different ways – yet all designed to support family life under many contexts. One Vision - transforming over 750,000 lives each year.