Mothers’ Union – the next generation!

Dianne is Mothers’ Union branch leader in St Mary’s Church, Diocese of Liverpool. She reinstated the branch 18 months ago after the original group which had run for over 100 years disbanded a few years earlier. The branch has very close links with their church and the local school and their theme is “Family – Church – School” as they strive for the three to be unified in their local area. 

As many attending the branch meetings had children, Dianne set up a corner in the church with crafts and pretend membership cards so that children were kept entertained whilst the adults met. The children obviously enjoyed this time together and it led to them wanting to be involved more with Mothers’ Union and discussions began about setting up their very own “Mini MU”.

The adult branch was absolutely delighted with and fully supported “Mini MU”. They loved the idea of having new and youthful views and valued the creation of a fun and safe environment for their children to meet and socialise. A lot of planning went into an initial open event which took place in October half term. They took time to plan lots of fun activities such as Christmas card making and cake decorating accompanied by lots of delicious food and drink.

The event was incredibly well attended with a highlight being a very professional dance routine that the children had choreographed and performed themselves. Dianne commented, “it was wonderful to see how well all the children worked well together and looked after one another – real fellowship. Our hopes for the future of “Mini MU” are that they and the adult branch work alongside each other to create a real family movement. We pray that members around the world are inspired by what we are doing and are encouraged to set it up in their communities”. 

She continues, “My advice to other Mothers’ Union members who are struggling to communicate MU to their younger generation would be to let the children lead the way. We as adults think about what we can do to get children involved in the Church and instead we have to let them decide what they would like to do and just support them”.

The “Minis” have already started running branch meetings and have lots of plans for 2019 including a sponsored bike ride and a danceathon to raise funds for their branch. Rosa and Ella, the “Mini MU” branch leaders have already spoken publicly about their group to other members and trustees which is giving them excellent life-skills and helps them grow in confidence. We are thrilled to welcome them into the Mothers’ Union family.