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Please pray for Baghdad
Elizabeth Brown
(Canterbury Provincial President) emailed the following
to Margaret Edwards - a powerful reminder of the
terrible conditions there and the dedication of those
who minister in Christ's name. Margaret asks that we all
pray for Mothers'
Union members and those who are suffering in
Baghdad
Dear Everyone
You
will remember how powerfully Sheila King (Portsmouth)
spoke at our provincial conference about the Mothers'
Union members
in Baghdad. I have just received the following message
from her - it is an abbreviated version of a long
message from Canon Andrew White - and I wanted to share
it with you all. It is almost impossible to understand
how our sisters there cope with life from day to day
with the constant anxiety that their lives, and those
they love, may be threatened at any time.
"Further to our short chat at Liverpool, I wondered
if we could include "Nawal", the branch leader in
Baghdad and some of the ladies, as I had an e-Mail
from Canon Andrew White on 25/06/07 telling us about
"Suads" funeral he had just conducted - she was the
wife of one of Andrew's staff, badly burned in an
accident and when he visited her she was in a lot of
pain as the hospital only had paracetamol to give
her. She was 40 years old, a mother of eight, and
one child is terminally ill. Andrew says she
should not have died, the treatment she needed is
almost impossible to get in Iraq. He said he looked
around the Church at the crying people, he saw many
who are very ill - he goes on: "I will soon be doing
their funerals". He tells of one lady with advanced
cancer, another with a brain tumour, who has no
sight - for them there is no possibility of
treatment. Most of the doctors have fled or been
killed.
He
says: "the only hope for this nation is peace" and
"please pray for us"
The
next e-mail (I receive about six a week) says he is
coming to the UK to visit the families of the
hostages, he knows them all.
Such a wonderful man, so dedicated to the people of
Iraq.
I
could go on but I think this gives you a brief
picture - yesterday's e-mail was 8 pages!"
Thank you, Elizabeth
PRAYER & SPIRITUALITY The Theme for 2009 is Cost of Relationship. There are a number of resources that you can download from the Mary Sumner House web site. Click on "members" where you will need to register. Then click on "members" at the top of the page and themes will be on the left hand margin of the page. Scroll down to find the resources you can download. These include: prayers and reflections;a prayer jigsaw; a prayer coin; a Good Samaritan Bible Study; Bible Charcters; Jesus' values; Lent Chart and Mothering Sunday notes. In Mothers’ Union, we aim to promote and encourage Christian family life. The bedrock of our movement is prayer. Join us in our commitment to prayer and faith in action. Prayer and Spirituality enable us to : Worship and pray together Engage with Scripture creatively Articulate our faith confidently Apply Gospel values to everyday situations Support each other in any situation Share and learn from each others experiences Understand our vocations using our God-given talents Understand the mission of Mothers' Union. Commit Mothers' Union to renewed faith, service, reflection and action Branch meetings will typically contain prayer and worship and there are opportunities for members to find spiritual refreshment in Quiet Days, Retreats and regular and occasional services. Midday prayers are said in the Office on Tuesday and Friday and all are welcome to join Kay and Jean. From 2009 Monthly prayers change to being held on Fridays, generally the last Friday of the month but please check the diary page to be sure. These are open to all and are led by the deaneries in turn just after 12 noon in the Lady Chapel of the Cathedral. Prayers and reflections may be found on the central Mothers Union website by following this link: Mary Sumner House. The Mothers' Union Prayer Diary has been replaced by Families Worldwide which is free to all members please ask your Branch Leader for your copy.
The Mary Sumner Prayer Written in 1876 by Mothers’ Union founder, Mary Sumner "All this day, O Lord, let me touch as many lives as possible for thee; and every life I touch, do thou by thy spirit quicken, whether through the word I speak, the prayer I breathe, or the life I live." Amen
Mothers’ Union Prayer (As a young woman, Mary Sumner took a special interest in women and their families. When she started meeting with mothers of the parish in 1876, Mary wrote the first Mothers’ Union prayer. The current prayer, like the original, focuses on the real concerns and needs of women throughout the world. ) Loving Lord, We thank you for your love so freely given to us all. We pray for families around the world. Bless the work of the Mothers’ Union as we seek to share your love through the encouragement, strengthening and supporting of marriage and family life. Empowered by your Spirit, may we be unified in prayer and worship. and in love and service reach out as your hands across the world. in Jesus' name Amen
gloucestermu
CATHEDRAL PRAYERS Don't forget that Mothers' Union leads prayer in the Lady Chapel just after 12 noon on the last Friday (usually but please check diary dates) in the month. The rota for Deaneries has been sent to all Deanery Leaders also it will be on the diary page of this web site. Support your members who are leading! There will still be time for a day out in Gloucester! You can also call in at the Mothers' Union office after your prayers!
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