President’s Blog: 17th October 2022
Greetings!
It has been a busy couple of weeks. Firstly, it was our Forum Weekend at Swanwick last weekend with all the planning and travelling that it involved and secondly, we held World Federation Day at St. John’s Northgate Methodist Church, Gloucester, last Saturday.
Forum is a meeting of MWiB trustees – one from each District – and was a particularly important meeting this time, as we were at the The Hayes Christian Conference Centre, to discuss the Proposals for the Future of Methodist Women in Britain. It was good to meet one another in person for discussion and fellowship. The proposals were passed unanimously.
We have decided to group the Districts into twelve regions, each with a Trustee and an Ambassador in each of the districts within that region. The trustees will meet with the Exec year, face to face, so there will be no ‘Forum’. The details have yet to be decided and the constitution will need to be adapted. The last Forum will meet in its present form, in February on Zoom, face to face.
Last Saturday we travelled down to Gloucester for the World Federation Day. We were given a warm welcome by members of the Bristol District who provided us with refreshments, including a delicious lunch! The day was entitled ‘Just Living, Being Faithful with God’s Resources’. The Bristol ladies lead the opening devotions when we thought about creation, the beauty of the world and how we have been charged to be its caretakers. Rachel Allison gave the Keynote speech about how the world is changing and what we can do about it. Barbara Easton, the WFUCW Unit President, gave the Bible Study, when we thought about different passages on how we should live, being faithful to God’s resources. There were workshops in the afternoon on Water Pollution, Food Waste, Fast Fashion and one by All We Can, which highlighted problems in modern living. This was followed by the final worship, led by Barbara, including a video from Alison Judd, who was unable to be with us as she was recovering from an operation. The day concluded with tea and cakes. Many thanks to all those who made it such a wonderful day. Get well soon, Alison; we send you our love and prayers.
The recordings of Saturday are on our MWiB YouTube channel, and you can find the links on our Facebook page.
Now for a rest!
Blessings
Ruth
