Recent Events


More Summer Events

Benwell branch admitted 3 new members today (2 brand new and 1 returning member).  We welcomed Rev Chris Minchin, Shirley and Olive into our branch, taking our membership to 16, an increase of 23 percent!  We admitted the members in our hub service marking St Margaret of Antioch's day.  Anne Marr (MU chaplain) and Anne Blight (Deanery Leader) were present.  
 
   
 St Bart's Branch Annual Afternoon Tea.  
On Saturday, 12th July, the sun came out and so did a happy group of people to enjoy the St Bart's Branch Annual Afternoon Tea. There was lots of chatter, and a great atmosphere in the room. The luxury hamper raffle was popular, and the food went down a treat. Thank you to our members who provided a delicious range of savouries and cakes. We also had strawberries and prosecco .
We are very grateful to everyone who came along. This year the money raised is providing help to the Women's Refuge as part of the work we are doing to support the MU RISE UP Campaign.
 
 
 
   

 


Worldwide President visits Newcastle MU

A Memorable Day

Benwell Church and altar were decorated in MU colours A lovely display showcasing Newcastle MU
We said Midday prayers led by Anne Blight  
We had lunch with the people of Benwell  
We held a service accompanied by the Benwell musicians.
Chaplain Anne Marr taught us how to sign the Mary Sumner prayer Kathleen was presented with a hand painted pebble
Which pebble would YOU choose? Kathleen Snow with Newcastle Trustees

 


Shepherds Dene

A group of us enjoyed our retreat at Shepherd's Dene

which this year was led by Canon Clare MacLaren.

 


Commissioning of our Worldwide President

The Plaque says it all.

Allegiance to Mary Sumner personified

I was rather taken aback to receive an Invitation to the service at St Martins in the Fields in London for the changing of the guard to our new WWP, Kathleen Snow, on March 24th. This came months before the event, and was organised through Eventbrite, very official! I was even emailed the YouTube version of the hymns so I could practice beforehand!

Return train tickets were bought well in advance, and, armed with all my entry paperwork I boarded the train.

I had wondered how I received an early invite, but it turned out that it was due to my work on the IT Committee overseeing the generation and implementation of the new IT solutions, including the membership database, the CRM system, and Mary Sumner House, for which I was considered a “VIP”!!!

A leisurely lunch in Covent Garden followed by a walk to St Martin’s in the Fields, thank you Google Maps on my phone, saw me arrive on the steps about 20 minutes before the doors opened. I found myself surrounded by the “Great and Good” of MU, and I busied myself introducing myself to people with badges, taking photos, particularly of their name tags, so I would remember who they were later.

York Province President – Christine Sharp and her husband John, who is Diocesan Finance Trustee

The Queue forms under the portico of St Martins in the Fields

I met up with Christine our Northern President, and her husband John, who holds a similar position in their Diocese as I do in Newcastle, and at the appointed time, we trooped in, being officially booked in. Others were being told sit anywhere but not in the front 5 rows. Christine and I were sent to meet an usher for the front 5 rows! We were directed to the Front Row! Gosh!

The service started with the International Trustees from all over the world sitting in an arc of chairs facing the congregation, the Ladies from the Africas and Asia looking wonderfully colourful.

What a wonderful building St Martins is, a magical setting for this wonderful occasion.

Entrance to Crypt Café at St Martin’s

Worldwide President Kathleen Snow with husband and brother

The service was led by the Archbishop of York, and very much took the form of our own Commissioning service, with the ceremonial part, where Kathleen Snow was presented with the Badge of Honour from her predecessor, there were speeches from the Bishop of Kathleen’s Diocese in Canada, and after the Communion, by Kathleen herself.

The Swearing in of Immediate Past and Newly Confirmed Worldwide Presidents

The Worldwide Trustees are sworn in.

The service ended and those with an invite were directed to make our way to Mary Sumner House for a reception. Fortunately, John and Christine knew the way. For somebody who hasn’t worked in London since the 1990s, it was an experience walking past the Houses of Parliament, the restored Big Ben, then Church House, on the way from Westminster tube station.

The Chapel in Mary Sumner House

Finance Director - Richard

A further chance to meet and greet. I finally met Kathleen, who I seem to know quite well despite only meeting over Zoom meetings.

I was asked by Richard, the Finance Director if I would join another Committee, one covering Risk and Audit, which I said I would once I had been able to pass on one of my Diocesan Jobs to someone else, of which more later.

As I was leaving, I was given a nice hug from President Kathleen, who said she was surprised how tall I am! The power of Zoom.

On leaving I found I had picked up the wrong person’s overcoat from the hooks, and embarrassed, I had to walk the walk of shame back to the main hall to retrieve my Coat!!!

Lynne, past President Emeritus, her husband, whose daughter is with our 1st Internet branch and I shared a taxi back to King’s Cross to end a most enjoyable if long day.

Julian

 


Summer Events 2025

Our President Margy with Christine Sharp our Provintial President and 2 others at the Leadership Conference in Liverpool where they considered 3 main Themes: 1 Working Together, 2 Membership growth and Managenent, 3 150th opportunities to celebrate and grow, along with Fun and Fellowship.
Branches had an invitation from Holy Nativity  branch to be at their meeting today. Our Chaplain Rev Anne Marr  would be teaching us to "Sign" Mary Sumner’s Personal Prayer. The few of us who went enjoyed our afternoon and hopefully we can put it to good use next week.
Branch Leader Debbie, Dorothy - Treasurer (cake maker!) and Rev Anne with Linda in the kitchen doing teas.
St Cuthberts Haydon Bridge with Beltingham and Henshaw MU Branch held their annual Garden Party at Anne Brunton's home yesterday.  Our Diocesan President Margy joined us for a very enjoyable afternoon of food and chat.  We were blessed with dry weather!!
 
We were really happy to have booked a spot in Newcastle Cathedral for their first Volunteers Fair.
It was a wonderful Marketing occasion where we gave out our Q cards and informed as many as possible about our great MU so we were able to feel that we had a successful day.

 


Spring Events 2025

The First Internet Branch ran a Quiz Night and raised £252, additional funds for our work with Harbour Refuge.

They have bought a bike shed to accommodate childrens` bicycles given to Harbour Refuge but for which they had no storage facilities. 

The £200 was made up mainly from the sale of items made from fabric given to the branch by Lynne Tembey, gathered from her travels when Worldwide President.  Huge thanks from the branch and Harbour  Refuge to Lynne for her generosiity and also to the helpers who made scarves, cushion covers and tote style bags etc.
Sylvia Hickey presented our Worldwide President, Kathleen with a bag made from the same material
 
Margy and Anne B deliver more toilet rolls and kitchen goods to Reza and Shirley in Benwell for the ‘Something Wonderful’ project.

The daughter of a friend, (Heather) got into a conversation with a lady on the train, as she travelled to work one day. The day was the 24th March and the lady was Kathleen Snow, who was on her way to be commissioned as our Worldwide President. Kathleen asked Heather to take a photograph of her and to pass on greetings to St Cuthbert’s branch! During my time as Diocesan President we were encouraged to explain the work of the Mothers’ Union whilst travelling in a moving lift, perhaps the train led to a more leisurely explanation of who we are and what we do.

Jennifer Snowdon

Holy Nativity members were delighted by the talk given to us by Helen Cooper today. We were shown many examples of her work and delighted to see the first of ten completed kneelers for Newcastle Cathedral.

The Marketing Team met with Peter Cumiskey in Cafe 22 at Newcastle Cathedral. Peter was happy to give advice on the way forward to promote Newcastle Mothers' Union
 

 


Our Tree at Howick

Our MU Indian Chestnut tree in Howick Hall keeps growing
Margy planting it in 2022 Margy with the tree in 2023 Anne M with the tree in 2025.

 


Diocesan Members Day April 2025

Diocesan Members Day 26 April 2025

'999'

Our Speaker at Diocesan Members Day was Craig from the Northeast Ambulance service.  He talked about the service in general, it was formed into the present structure in 2006 and covers an area from Berwick in the north to Guisborough in the south and Haltwhistle in the west.  This is a diverse area covering cities such as Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesborough but also large rural areas in west and North Northumberland.

Craig came with a team of props, for example “Charlie” a very handsome guy from the British Heart Foundation.  There were also dolls in various sizes.  These props were used to demonstrate how to deal with someone who is choking.

He also showed us how to perform C.P.R, again using a “model” patient, then moving on the use of a defibrillator.  He stressed that these machines were actually not frightening to use as they give positive verbal instructions and could save a life.  In both situations speed is of the essence and minutes can make the difference between life and death.

When a call is made to the Ambulance Call Centre the operator must assess the patient`s need and put them in a category ranging from 1 (danger to life) to 4 which records need but with a lower priority.  In the case of category 1 the operator will talk the caller through what they need to do while the ambulance is diverted to arrive within minutes.  Craig stressed that we should never be afraid to seek help either by ringing 111 or 999.

He encouraged questions and members really engaged with him as he spoke.  Craig was thanked for his fascinating and informative talk, he received a small l gift of thanks.

It was Lesley Bolton`s Birthday so we all sang “Happy Birthday” and Sylvia presented her with a bouquet of pink roses and carnations.

The picture also shows Ann Mitchell who has recently taken over as our Prayer Chain co-ordinator.

 

 

 

 


Easter 2025 across the Diocese

Easter Across the Diocese

I visited the Northumberland Woman’s Refuge in Holy week to deliver a large selection of Easter eggs donated by our members and congregation of St Cuthbert’s Blyth for the families. I also delivered the fantastic toiletry bags donated from St Bede’s branch, and outdoor toys, books and craft items. The staff were, as ever, very grateful for these donations as the photograph shows.
Jennifer Snowdon
Members of Bedlington Deanery enjoying tea and cake after our Lenten Reflection service at St Cuthbert’s Blyth shortly before Easter.
During the last week of term, we had a wonderful day at St Cuthbert’s, where we welcomed nearly 100 children from our local school, Croftway Academy, who came along and learnt about the Easter egg and that an empty chocolate egg is symbolic of the empty tomb.
Members of the congregation, including Mothers’ Union members, Knitted or crochet over 100 chicks for the children to take home with a chocolate egg hidden inside their chick.
The First Internet Branch provided 24 Real Easter Eggs, one for every child at Harbour Refuge.  The 18 women each received an Easter card containing a Greggs £10 food voucher, generously donated by Greggs themselves.

 


Council April 4th 2025

Council & AGM April 2024

Over 50 members attended our Spring Council meeting. We had our AGM and then we had a talk with a Presentation from John and Lena Stephenson from the Charity ReNew North East. This is the charity we will work with inorder to enable our AFIA to go ahead in a different way.

It was good to watch the film seeing those on holiday enjoying lots of supervised outdoor activities. It gave us a picture of the holiday breaks that will be offered.
You can find out more abouut ReNew North East here  

 

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