Mothers' Union
Encyclopedia
History
The organisation was founded by Mary SumnerMary Sumner
Mary Sumner was the founder of the Mothers' Union, a worldwide Anglican women's organisation. She is commemorated in a number of provinces of the Anglican Communion on 9 August....
in 1876 in the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of Old Alresford
Old Alresford
Old Alresford is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. It is situated some 1 km north of the town of New Alresford, 12 km north-east of the city of Winchester, and 20 km south-west of the town of Alton....
, near Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
, where her husband was rector. She was inspired to start the movement after the birth of her first grandchild. Remembering her own difficulties when she was first a mother, Sumner wanted to bring mothers of all social classes together to provide support for one another and to be trained in motherhood, something which she saw as a vocation.
In 1885, Ernest Roland Wilberforce
Ernest Roland Wilberforce
Ernest Roland Wilberforce was an Anglican clergyman and bishop. From 1882 to 1896 he was the first Anglican Bishop of Newcastle upon the diocese's creation, and from 1896 to 1907 he was Bishop of Chichester....
, the first Bishop of Newcastle
Bishop of Newcastle
The Bishop of Newcastle is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Newcastle in the Province of York.The diocese at present covers the County of Northumberland and the Alston Moor area of Cumbria...
, was preparing to address churchgoing women in the Portsmouth Church Congress
Church Congress
Church Congress is an annual meeting of members of the Church of England, lay and clerical, to discuss matters religious, moral or social, in which the church is interested...
. Finding he had nothing relevant to say to churchwomen, he contacted Mary Sumner and asked her to speak to the conference in his stead. Although she was reluctant and beset by nervousness, she addressed the women passionately about the power of mothers to change the nation for the better. A number of the women present were encouraged to return to their parishes to set up similar women's meetings, and the Bishop of Winchester
Bishop of Winchester
The Bishop of Winchester is the head of the Church of England diocese of Winchester, with his cathedra at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.The bishop is one of five Church of England bishops to be among the Lords Spiritual regardless of their length of service. His diocese is one of the oldest and...
, who presided over the congress, declared that the Mothers' Union become a diocesan organisation. The growth of the movement beyond the boundary of the Diocese of Winchester
Diocese of Winchester
The Diocese of Winchester forms part of the Province of Canterbury of the Church of England.Founded in 676, it is one of the oldest and largest of the dioceses in England.The area of the diocese incorporates:...
was due to the emphasis in Victorian British society on morality
Victorian morality
Victorian morality is a distillation of the moral views of people living at the time of Queen Victoria's reign and of the moral climate of the United Kingdom throughout the 19th century in general, which contrasted greatly with the morality of the previous Georgian period...
and contending with social ills as well as the growth in Anglican mission
Mission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...
throughout the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
.
Rapidly, the Mothers' Union spread to the dioceses of Ely
Diocese of Ely
The Diocese of Ely is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury. It is headed by the Bishop of Ely, who sits at Ely Cathedral in Ely. There is one suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Huntingdon. The diocese now covers Cambridgeshire and western Norfolk...
, Exeter
Diocese of Exeter
The Diocese of Exeter is a Church of England diocese covering the county of Devon. It is one of the largest dioceses in England. The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter is the seat of the diocesan bishop, the Right Reverend Michael Langrish, Bishop of Exeter. It is part of the Province of...
, Hereford
Diocese of Hereford
The Diocese of Hereford is a Church of England diocese based in Hereford, covering Herefordshire, southern Shropshire and a few parishes within Worcestershire in England; and a few parishes within Powys and Monmouthshire in Wales....
, Lichfield
Diocese of Lichfield
The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers 4,516 km² The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England...
and Newcastle
Diocese of Newcastle
The Diocese of Newcastle is a Church of England diocese based in Newcastle upon Tyne, covering the historic county of Northumberland . The area of Alston Moor in Cumbria also forms part of the diocese.The diocese came into being on May 23, 1882, and was one of four created by the Bishoprics Act...
, and then throughout the United Kingdom. By 1892, there were 60,000 members in 28 dioceses, which grew to 169,000 members by the turn of the century. In 1893, annual general meetings were organised, and, in 1896, the Mothers' Union Central Council was formed. Mary Sumner was unanimously elected president, a post she held into her nineties. In 1897, during her Diamond Jubilee
Diamond Jubilee
A Diamond Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 60th anniversary in the case of a person or a 75th anniversary in the case of an event.- Thailand :...
, Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
became patron of the Mothers' Union, giving it an unprecedented stamp of approval. Mary Sumner's Mothers' Union set up branches throughout the British Empire, beginning in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, then Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. She lived to lead the Mothers' Union to act in rebuilding the heart of Britain after the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and saw the first Mothers' Union Conference of Overseas Workers in 1920.
The Union has a very functionalist ideology, and for many years divorced and separated mothers were banned from membership. The self-contained, caring, internalising nuclear family, with women accepting community-imposed social duties, remains an ideal.
The Mothers' Union today
As a global movement of women (and men), the Mothers' Union supports local churches with the prayers and activities of its branch members, local communities through social outreach projects and is an internatinoal campaigning charity. Particularly concerned with the plight of women in the world, its projects include literacy and development, parenting, micro finance and campaigning against violence against women and the trafficking of women. The Mothers' Union is part of Make Poverty HistoryMake Poverty History
Make Poverty History is the name of a campaign that exists in a number of countries, including Australia, Canada, Denmark , Finland, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Romania, the United Arab Emirates, Great Britain and Ireland...
and the Jubilee Debt Coalition
Jubilee Debt Coalition
Jubilee Debt Coalition is a coalition of national organisations and local groups around the UK, calling for the unpayable debts of the poorest countries to be cancelled. The Coalition is also known as Jubilee Debt Campaign and focuses on developing countries' debt.- History :The Coalition was...
. Within the UK it has successfully lobbied government to introduce the Right to request flexible working for all parents, and internationally it speaks out on issues of gender equality through its representative status at the United Nations.
Of its 4 million, approximately 1.9 million Mothers' Union members are from Indian dioceses (from the formerly independent churchwomen's organisations of the Church of North India
Church of North India
The Church of North India , the dominant Protestant denomination in northern India, is a united church established on 29 November 1970 by bringing together the main Protestant churches working in northern India...
and the Church of South India
Church of South India
The Church of South India is the successor of the Church of England in India. It came into being in 1947 as a union of Anglican and Protestant churches in South India. With a membership of over 3.8 million, it is India's second largest Christian church after the Roman Catholic Church in India...
, which affiliated with the Mothers' Union in 2001 and 2003 respectively). A further 1.3 million Mothers' Union members are in African dioceses, with the largest membership, 680,000, in Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
. Membership within the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
is around 93,000 and has seen rapid declines from 122,000 in 2003 and more than 222,000 in 1993.
Aim and objectives
From the Mothers' Union website:Its vision is of a world where God's love is shown through loving, respectful, and flourishing relationships.
Aim & Purpose: To demonstrate the Christian faith in action by the transformation of communities worldwide through the nurture of the family in its many forms.
In order to carry out this aim, the Mothers' Union objectives are:
- To uphold Christ's teaching on the nature of marriage and promote its wider understanding.
- To encourage parents to bring up their children in the faith and life of the Church.
- To maintain a worldwide fellowship of Christians united in prayer, worship and service.
- To promote conditions in society favourable to stable family life and the protection of children.
- To help those whose family life has met with adversity.
Structure
The Mothers' Union has developed within the Anglican CommunionAnglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
and uses its structure as its own. Individual branches are usually based on parishes or small groups of parishes. There are often levels of co-ordination corresponding to deaneries
Deanery
A Deanery is an ecclesiastical entity in both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of a Dean.- Catholic usage :...
and archdeaconries, that link the branch organisations with that of the diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
. The Anglican provinces each have their own administration, which, in turn, supports the worldwide President, currently Rosemary Kempsell. The worldwide headquarters is in Mary Sumner House in Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Prayer
The Mothers' Union emphasises the importance of prayer underpinning its work. Each year, the Mothers' Union organises a Wave of Prayer. Each diocese is given a set day to pray for other dioceses, and within each diocese each branch is given a specific time to pray. This gives to members a sense of unity in prayer for one another as the wave of prayer moves from branch to branch and from diocese to diocese.Further Reading
- Moyse, Cordelia. A History of the Mothers' Union: Women, Anglicanism and Globalisation, 1876-2008. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press, 2011. ISBN 9781843836063.
External links
- The Mothers' Union website
- Mothers' Union Enterprises website
- Canterbury Province MU — covering southern England and Europe
- MU Australia
- MU Ireland
- MU Canada
- MU Scotland
- Barbados Diocesan MU
- Manicaland Diocesan MU — in Zimbabwe, in the Church of the Province of Central AfricaChurch of the Province of Central AfricaThe Church of the Province of Central Africa is part of the Anglican Communion, and includes 15 dioceses in Botswana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Primate of the Church is the Archbishop of Central Africa; Albert Chama is the current Archbishop, being installed on 20 March 2011, succeeding...
- Intelligent Giving profile of MU UK
- Archives of the Mothers' Union at Lambeth Palace Library