Mothers' Union represented at the Lambeth Awards

Mrs Sheran Harper, A.A. – The Cross of St Augustine for Services to the Anglican Communion.
For outstanding service to the Anglican Communion over 20 years, as a volunteer leader of Mothers’ Union at all levels including Worldwide President and representing the Archbishop of Canterbury on the World Council of Religions for Peace.

For over 20 years, Sheran Harper has given outstanding and dedicated voluntary service to the Church and Mothers’ Union. Her ability to connect spiritually and personally with an incredibly diverse global range of personalities means that she has touched the lives of countless individuals worldwide. Within her home country of Guyana, she has served the Church at Diocesan Synod level, and represented Mothers’ Union on the National Commission for the Family 2012-2015.

Within Mothers’ Union, she has travelled to over 20 countries as a trainer on parenting and economic empowerment programmes, and as a facilitator for MULOA (Mothers Union Listens, Observes and Acts). After 6 years of service on the worldwide Board, in 2018 she was elected as worldwide president, and led the first Board under a new constitution, which saw the most diverse ever representation of Provinces. She led the new Worldwide Council in Kigali in 2019, when they affirmed the key aims for MU of stopping poverty, violence and injustice, and shaped a new Strategic Plan to 2026. Subsequently, she has seen transformation as the movement has learned through COVID to use Zoom to connect more closely than ever across nations – and has followed through with an intense programme of personal visits into each worldwide Zone.

She has been consistently active more broadly in the Anglican Communion, for example giving a keynote speech to the Lambeth Conference in 2022 on Peace and Reconciliation and representing the Archbishop of Canterbury on the World Council of Religions for Peace. Her impact has been both broad and deep.

The late Mrs Jocelyne Vololoniaina Razafiarivony – Langton Award for Community Service.
In recognition of her significant and distinguished service to the Mothers’ Union and the Anglican Church, fostering resilience and strength among communities across Madagascar’s six dioceses facing the frequent natural disasters and ongoing economic challenges as a result of the Covid pandemic.

As National Coordinator for the Mothers’ Union in Madagascar for 16 years and Provincial CDC of the Indian Ocean for 6 years, Jocelyne exemplified outstanding leadership skills as a facilitator. Demonstrating remarkable dedication, she made it her mission to reach rural and remote communities, often travelling over 30 kilometres on foot to support families in distress and hardship. Since 2018, she tirelessly supported Mothers’ Union members and their communities in building resilience against natural disasters and climate change, including the threats of drought and famine. In 2021, Jocelyne completed a year-long global resilience learning exchange led by the Anglican Alliance and Episcopal Relief & Development, resulting in the implementation of a pilot project within Antananarivo and Toliara Dioceses. This project, aimed at fostering community resilience in health and mental well-being, was a first for the Church in Madagascar.

Jocelyne empowered communities to recognise their assets and build upon their collective knowledge and skills, learning from past adversities. Her work enabled the development of community-owned, locally-tailored disaster preparedness plans and climate adaptation strategies. In the drought-stricken south, for instance, she mobilised communities to work collaboratively in constructing irrigation channels and provided training on crop diversity and the cultivation of drought-resistant plants. As a result, these communities are now growing new crops, as well as improving yields, and achieving better nutrition and diet.

Last but not least, Jocelyne was a passionate advocate for climate action, speaking at prominent events, including two UK Government-organised sessions for Civil Society Voices on Gender and Climate, as well as Women and Girls, during the UN Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW66) in 2022. The same year, she also served as a facilitator at the Lambeth Conference Bishops’ Spouses event. Humble, deeply spiritual, and dedicated, she truly embodied her faith in this crucial work of resilience-building and advocacy.