Belford Mothers Union

There is no meeting in March. From Wednesday 7th April we will meet at 7pm at the Bell View Resource Centre and continue to meet there on the 1st Wednesday of every month throughout 2010 except for August when they will have a walk followed by supper T.B.A Contact Sylvia Hickey on 219957

March 25thLady Day. ‘The Annunciation’ all MU members are encouraged to attend church on this day

April 7th Jane Field. Services Development Manager Bell View. ‘Bell View and the Changes in the Social Care System.’

May 5thMrs. Isabel Gordon ‘Aids and the Scottish Borders Africa Aids Group. Talk and Slides

June 2nd Jacqueline Rainford. Supporting justice and compassion in the Holy Land. ‘Practical Compassion for Destitute Children.

July 7thBrother Alan Michael ‘The Urban Friary’

August 4thA.F.I.A. Walk to raise money for the MU free holidays for those in need . Followed by a bar meal/ supper.

August 9th Mary Sumner Day.

Sept. 1stExploring issues surrounding terminal illness and assisted suicide - Lord Walton

‘Some Dilemmas of Life and Death’

Sept/OctLindisfarne Archdeaconry Festival TBA

October 6thRev. Barbara Knight Diocesan Team for Healing and Wholeness.

October 15thDiocesan Council Kingston Park. 10.30am

November 3rdDon Pirt. ‘Reflections of a Prison Visitor’

December 1st A Christmas ‘Special Evening’ with seasonal refreshments

It has been a busy time for the Mother's Union with four new members joining the branch and being installed in the Church. The Branch has members from both St Mary's and The Erskine URC and the February meeting saw member Christine Harris giving a talk on "Relationships in Nursing". Christine who also helps out with reading at the Middle School gave an informative talk which everyone found interesting. Our picture show Christine extreme left with from left to right Frances Octon, Elizabeth Fallah, Audrey Thompson, Heather Langford and Val Metcalfe. Branch leader Sylvia Hickey is sitting beside Kathleen Williamson. Have you noticed wherever you go in the village Kathleen is either on the door, doing the raffle or both!!

Mothers' Union is a Christian organisation with more than 3.6 million members in over 78 countries worldwide. The backbone of

Mothers' Union is its worldwide network of grassroots volunteers. Whatever their individual backgrounds, members are united in

their commitment to supporting marriage and family life. They give their time to generously help others, whether by running local projects, supporting international campaigns, or fundraising.

Help Our Troops in Afghanistan

The Mothers` Union branch here in Belford is taking a full part in the new M.U. Project for this Diocese. It is called “Operation Dolly Mixtures” and came about through our Chaplain Marion who is also chaplain to the Army Camp at Otterburn. We are planning to send shoebox comfort parcels to our troops serving in Afghanistan. The total weight of the parcel must not exceed 2 Kilos to make it eligible for the free B.F.P.O postal system. Our troops, and remember they are both men and women, are facing extreme conditions and hardship and we hope to bring them a little cheer and a feeling of support. We are not dispatching our boxes until early in the New Year as we feel that is when they may be most welcome. Everyone concentrates on Christmas but by Jan`-Feb` one often gets the feeling of being forgotten. Also, by leaving it till then, we will avoid the huge Christmas postal rush. This project is open to anyone in Belford who would like to participate. If you want to know more, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me, Sylvia Hickey on

219957 or speak to any M.U. member you may know. We would welcome either gifts of actual items or money with which to buy them. Each box will also contain a small pack of dolly mixtures and a short message and card stamped with M.U. logo from our branch.

The following list is what we have been told by returning troops are the things that would be most useful and appreciated, bearing in mind the hazards of heat and air travel.