26.09.2012
Mothers’ Union Celebrates 125 Years In Ireland
Members of Mothers’ Union from all over the country gathered on Sunday September 23 for a special service of choral evensong in Christ Church Cathedral to mark the organisation’s 125th anniversary in Ireland.
In his welcome the dean of Christ Church, the Very Reverend Dermot Dunne, said it was great to see so many people turn out to celebrate 125 glorious years of Mothers’ Union in Ireland. He pointed out that the organisation had a special place in the cathedral as the
All Ireland Mothers’ Union Chapel was located in Christ Church.
The sermon was preached by the Bishop of Kilmore Elphin and Ardagh, the Right Reverend Kenneth Clarke, who told the congregation that Mothers’ Union was about Christian compassion, love and courage. He added that Mother’s Union was having an impact right around the globe.
Bishop Clarke said that people sometimes looked at Mothers’ Union and wondered what it was all about. He said there was sometimes a perception that it was for people in the latter stages of life. Others saw Mothers’ Union as a tea–making service, he said. Still others viewed the organisation in the past tense. However, the Bishop pointed out that there were over four million members of Mothers’ Union throughout the world. A total of 49 percent of members were in India and 48 percent were in Africa. Just two percent of members came from the British Isles and Ireland, he stated. “Mothers’ Union is actually making an impact in many countries and is a vital lifeline in many churches,” he said.
In answer to the question: What is Mothers’ Union about?, Bishop Clarke said the organisation was centred on Christ. Detailing the history of the organisation’s founding by Mary Sumner, a vicar’s wife, he said she sought to have Christ at the centre of Mothers’ Union. “Mothers’ Union is Christian in its roots and Christian in its shoots or branches,” he said.
He said that Mothers’ Union was also about compassion for people expressed in serving people and helping them and this love and compassion could be seen in branches throughout Ireland. But he added that there was also a “Holy hate” – a hatred of injustice, greed, the over commercialisation and sexualisation of children and a hatred of seeing children missing out on childhood.
Finally, the Bishop said Mothers’ Union was about courage. Referring to the Gospel reading which stated: “There is a time to be born and a time to die” Bishop Clarke said that there was a time when some things must die. “Our 125th anniversary is a good time to ask if there are some things that need to die in Mothers’ Union because they are no longer fruitful… to discard things which may hinder us in doing what Mothers’ Union is all about,” he said. “The 125th anniversary is the time to have courage to face these things.” However, he added that there is also a time to be born and that as some things die, other things are born anew.
The service concluded with the dedication of the new lights in the Mothers’ Union chapel.