FORTHCOMING EVENTS

2004 Calendar

Friday 4th to Friday 11th June
AFIA Seniors' Holiday, Compton Abbas

Wednesday 23rd and Thursday 24th June
General Meeting, Douglas, Isle of Man

Thursday 8th July
Meeting of Trustees

Saturday 17th July
Indoor Members Garden Party, Bishopswood

Saturday 31st July to Saturday 7th August
AFIA Families' Holiday, Lodge Hill

Wednesday 8th and Thursday 9th September
World Wide Council, Mary Sumner House

Saturday 18th September
International Year of the Family Day at the Royal Armouries, Fort Nelson 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday 19th September
International Year of the Family - Special Services in our churches

Thursday 23rd September
Prayer and Spirituality Unit Day, Holy Trinity Church Centre, Fareham 10 a.m. to 2.45 p.m. "Healing Relationships", led by Canon Arthur Dean Tickets at £5, to include two course lunch, available through P & S Deanery Representatives

Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th October
Two Provincial Trainers in our Diocese (provisional)

Diocesan Corporate Communion

Portsmouth Cathedral 12 noon
16 June Portsmouth Deanery
21 July Fareham Deanery
18 August Petersfield Deanery
15 September Bishops Waltham Deanery
20 October Gosport Deanery
ALL WELCOME

Mothers' Union Speakers For International Year Of The Family 2004

The two topics to be covered are based on the following UN themes - The Role of Women in the Family Family Well-Being (education, literacy and development, malnutrition etc.)

The speakers in this Diocese are -
Mrs Vera Britton
Mrs. Christine Clode
Mrs. Norah Coote
Mrs. Grenda Hurt
Mr. Cyril Llewelyn
Mrs. Brenda O'Leary
Mrs. Margaret Symonds

You will find their telephone numbers in the Diocesan Directory.

Valerie Edmonds

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BITS AND PIECES

U2 Can Support The M.U.

Speaking to members during a visit to Portsmouth, Reg Bailey, Chief Executive of The Mothers' Union, revealed that Bob Geldorf and U2 lead singer Bono are enthusiastic supporters of the work of the MU. He also told members that the expertise and experience of the MU was called upon by the government after Chancellor Gordon Brown consulted the world-wide organisation for comments when setting up the international action against child poverty.

Welcomed by Pauline Wale, Portsmouth Diocesan President, Mr. Bailey began his visit to Portsmouth speaking to the clergy of the diocese, describing the work of the MU, which now has 3 million members in 72 countries. He then gave an address during a service at which the Diocesan President, Trustees and others taking office at the beginning of the new Triennial were commissioned. Also present at St. Mary's Church, Portsea were the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Portsmouth and representatives from other local Christian women's organisations. Following the service, guests and members enjoyed a "bring and share" lunch.

To complete the day, Reg Bailey gave a fascinating talk to members recalling amusing and moving stories of his personal experiences working for The Mothers' Union in this country and abroad.

Susanne Marlow
Press & Publicity Officer

Diocesan Secretary

As I expect some of you will know by now, Chrissie O'Neill resigned as our Diocesan Secretary at the beginning of May. This means that we have a very urgent need for a replacement for her. The job is vital to the smooth running of our organisation and we must find someone as soon as possible.

The job involves all the usual secretarial skills and includes servicing meetings, helping the President in all her numerous activities, ensuring liaison between the different Units, keeping the database up to date, dealing with telephone calls (using our answering machine where practicable), etc. etc. If you feel you, or somebody you know, could help us please get in touch with me, Marian Wendon, on 023 9229 4869. Although it would be nice if we could find someone from our membership, it is not essential, although of course any applicant would need to be in support of our aims and objectives. We are actively investigating whether it would be possible to divide up the workload - perhaps having a separate minute secretary, for example. We do offer a modest honorarium.

Volunteers Needed

Help is urgently required at St. Mary's Hospital Chapel, Portsmouth on Sunday mornings. The purpose of the Chapel Volunteer is to enable patients to worship God in the hospital, and for the volunteers to share in the worship of the chapel congregation.

Responsibilities include escorting or pushing patients in wheelchairs from the wards to the hospital chapel in time for the service, sitting with them during the service, and then returning the same patient(s) back to the ward after the service.

If you could help on just one Sunday morning per month this would be very much appreciated. Perhaps you know of other people from your church who might also be willing to help! If so, why not encourage them to come along too?

If you are in good health and feel you would like to help, or would like more information about becoming a Chapel Volunteer, please contact

The Revd. David Gynes,
Portsmouth NHS Trust Chaplaincy Team Leader,
telephone 023 9228 6408.

Should he be unavailable, any member of the Chaplaincy Team will be able to help you. Please do tell them you are an MU member.

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CELEBRATIONS

103th Birthday
1st June	Mrs. Amy Harvey
90th Birthday
4th June	Mrs. Margaret Harrison
50 Year Certificate
March March March March March April	Mrs. Pat Horn Mrs. Molly Rimington Mrs. Rene Thomson Mrs. Betty Wooldridge Mrs. Violet Puddle Mrs. Lucy Love