Reflecting on another event-filled week it has been quite difficult to select which photographs to use for this, my final blog for Methodist Women in Britain.
In the end I have chosen two from the Methodist Conference depicting six presidents!
As I’m sure many of you will know, Rev Barbara Glasson had walked over 180 miles from her home in Bradford to Birmingham, the venue for the 2019 Methodist Conference and her commissioning as President of the Connexion. On her journey Barbara had sown seeds along the way – seeds of faith and wisdom and physical seeds which will eventually grow, flower and produce more seed.
We cheered Barbara as she reached the finishing line at the Hilton, greeted by ‘Superspud’ All We Can’s giant potato! ‘Deepen your roots this Harvest’ is the theme of this year’s All We Can harvest resources celebrating the power of potatoes and making a practical difference to the world’s poorest communities:
https://www.allwecan.org.uk/resources/service-materials/harvest-2019-deepen-your-roots/
This year’s MWiB Fringe Event at Conference was attended by well over 150 people. Entitled ‘Open Hands and Space to Grow’ this year’s event was the commissioning service of our new MWiB President, Hilary Evans.
It was a very moving service especially when Hilary shared briefly some of her experiences in Mexico earlier this year where she had witnessed the plight of migrant refugees and the agencies and churches trying to help them. People traffickers are active in most areas of the world where vulnerable people are trying to escape poverty, persecution or war and refugees are no exception. Hilary is passionate about trying to combat people trafficking and I’m sure we’ll be hearing much more about this issue in the coming months.
Over £520 was raised for ‘Stop the Traffik’ during the final hymn.
https://www.stopthetraffik.org
I feel very honoured to be a member of the ‘line-up’ in the top photo. I was a Forum member of MWiB when Jill Baker (top left) was commissioned in 2011 as the first President of Methodist Women in Britain. I continued to serve on the Forum alongside Linda Crossley (commissioned 2013) and Anne Browse (commissioned 2015) before my own commissioning in 2017. I look forward to supporting Hilary for the next 12 months as Vice-President before handing over to —– could this be you??
It has been a privilege to serve God in this way, a wonderful opportunity to meet so many of you across the connexion, and to share in the support of women, girls and communities across the world through what we do as Methodist Women in Britain.
Thank you and bless you all.
Sandra
