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Branch meetings are held on the 2nd Thursday afternoon of each month.

KENYAN FOOD CRISIS UPDATE & 'THE HARVEST HAS FAILED' APPEAL

Please ask your churches to pray that the rains in Eastern Africa will not fail in October, particularly in Kenya as an estimated 10 million people are now living with starvation. 16 of Kenya's Dioceses have called the Mothers' Union for help, as the rains failed in Easter. Globally Mothers' Union has sent £74,000, but twice as much is needed. The lack of rains and high grain prices, have compounded the food crisis, which originated last year when food was destroyed during an outbreak of violence. The Kenyan parliament stated "If the short October-November rains also fail, we will have a catastrophe". School feeding programmes are also in distress.

The Mothers' Union provincial co-ordinator for Kenya said: “This is a national disaster. We have never experienced something like this before. Sometimes people have to go without any meal at all for a day or two. If we can give them a packet of maize meal, it can save a life.

“ Everywhere temperatures were up and crop yields were down. Grain prices were high; school feeding-programmes were “in distress”; about ten million people required urgent help with food.”

If you'd like to support the MU in this relief work, please contact Anne Wilson or Margaret Hartley or send a cheque direct to: The Mothers' Union, Mary Sumner House, 24 Tufton Street, London SW1P 3RB.

October 8th 2pm ‘Our link with Sri Lanka' is the topic at this month's branch meeting. Rev Alan Griggs will tell us about the area and the people involved.

October 23rd The Diocesan Autumn Council will be held at the Parish Centre 10.30am-3pm (Coffee 10.00am). This is the last Council of this Triennial and is open to everyone.

Thursday Group

It is with much sadness that, after 46 years, the Thursday Group (formerly the Young Wives' Group) has to announce that it will no longer meet. At the meeting on 19th July the 11 members present, considering the views of those who had sent their apologies, agreed that we were not now a large enough group to ask speakers to come each month. So the accounts were presented and the group formally wound up. After a donation to the Parish Centre, the remaining funds are to be distributed among the charities of some recent speakers: Mercy Ships, Yorkshire Air Ambulance, Elisabeth Svendsen Trust for Children and Donkeys, and HALT (an organisation which helps and advises victims of domestic violence).