Upcoming Mothers’ Union events

​​Two amazing events are happening next week! On Wednesday 13 September at St John’s Church, Rastrick we are having three visitors from Tanzania: Arthur Mauya who has retired as Link Officer between Mara and the Leeds Diocese.
By Jane Chippindale
Published 4th Sep 2023, 20:45 BST
The Luddites, in 1812, rebelled against their employers who were introducing machinery into the mills which would mean that their labour was unnecessary.The Luddites, in 1812, rebelled against their employers who were introducing machinery into the mills which would mean that their labour was unnecessary.
The Luddites, in 1812, rebelled against their employers who were introducing machinery into the mills which would mean that their labour was unnecessary.

By Julia Tum, Mothers’ Union branch leader, St John the Divine, Rastrick:

This is a very important and extremely useful position keeping people within the Leeds Diocese up to speed about what is happening in Tanzania and asking for our prayers and support. Following his retirement this post has been taken over by Melina Galibona and they are joined by Bishop Musa of Rorya Diocese.

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Melina will be talking about her work in The Safe House and with the girls who live there. The house can take up to 60 girls. The girls have fled their homes to avoid Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) which is an appalling practice. Although it is against the law it is practised quite widely in different parts of Africa. This is an inclusive event and everybody is welcome. Her talk follows a midweek Eucharist starting at 10.30 am in St John’s Church, then tea and coffee will be served at 11.15 am. Melina will give an illustrated talk starting at 11.30am detailing her experiences at the Safe House, the life story of some of the girls, and the progress that has been made. Then there will be an excellent opportunity to meet and chat with Melina over lunch and to know more about this dreadful practice and what we can do to help.

On the following day, Thursday, September 14, a group of 16 Mothers’ Union members are asking for sponsorship to follow a five-mile trail of the Luddites. The money collected will be used by the Mothers’ Union in various projects to support families in the UK and across the world. The Luddites, in 1812, rebelled against their employers who were introducing machinery into the mills which would mean that their labour was unnecessary. This also meant that they would not receive any wages and that without any income their families would starve. This would have been a cause that the Mothers’ Union in those days would have supported. The army at that time supported the mill owners and began to round up the Luddites, transporting large groups of them to either be hanged or taken to Australia to serve their punishment. The harsh response which resulted in imprisonment, death or being sent across the world was enough to suppress the actions of the group, at the cost of starvation and great hardship to the families. On the route which we will take we will pass many historical landmarks to the Luddites in Liversedge and I can recount some of the tales that happened to the men at that time.

Would you like to know more about either of these events or about the Mothers’ Union? Then please do contact me [email protected]

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