"Choose some wise, understanding and respected men and women from each of your tribes and I will set them over you" Deuteronomy 1:13

The annual general meeting of our branch of the Mothers' Union met on a frosty and snow-covered countryside at the home of Jocelyn, to review our previous year's work and to outline our plans and hopes for 2025.

2025 is the first of the three years in the new Triennium, when new faces and new enthusiasms will guide us in our continued work for Mothers' Union.

Our new World- Wide President is Kathleen Snow. Kathleen has been a member of the Mothers' Union for 36 years and a Zonal Trustee for the Americas, so she has a vast experience of Mothers' Union Worldwide.

Although we were few in number, we reviewed our activities and finances from 2024, and agreed to donate from our branch funds towards the cost of new virtual babies. This is something especially of interest to our branch as we can see the programme at work in our local schools and hear of the benefits to young people in the responsibilities of parenthood and family life. (MU supports marriage and family life.)

We outlined meetings already fixed for 2025 and our hopes to invite speakers on a variety of topics. Branch tasks were agreed in order to share the different ways in which all members can feel valued. Plans for the Wave of Prayer and Soup Lunch for our February meeting were outlined and Branches of MU from Westbury and Mere have been invited to join us. After the business meeting had concluded, a lighter few minutes were taken up with a quiz in which the answers were English counties. Out of twenty questions Diana was top scorer with 14 correct answers and received a jar of chutney as her prize. We thanked Rose for this quiz and thanked Jocelyn for her hospitality. Our meeting ended with prayers before sharing the grace and carefully treading our way home on the slippery roads which fortunately were beginning to thaw in lovely winter sunshine.

Our next meeting is the Soup Lunch and Wave of Prayer which will be on February 6th in Holy Trinity Church at 12 noon.

"Join Us and Join In" is our encouragement for this year of 2025

"Walk humbly, yet boldly in the confidence of the Lord" Philippians 4:13

Enid Holbrow.