CEO Letter: Bev Julien shares Mothers’ Union’s global vision

As we enter the 145th year of Mothers’ Union, and very gradually begin to move on from the immediate crisis of COVID-19, we can look with renewed hope and confidence towards the 150th anniversary of MU, in five years’ time.

When MU leaders from around the world met in Kigali, Rwanda, in June 2019, they painted a picture of a time where members were even more united as a fellowship of Christians around the world, putting faith into action in our communities, and working to build a future free of poverty, violence and injustice, where everyone can thrive.

This vision can be made a reality by creating strong, healthy relationships with God, with ourselves, and within our families and communities. It means continuing to help those around us to transform their own lives, by helping build self-reliance (for example, through literacy training and savings and credit groups); promoting peace and safety (with workshops for behavioural change within communities) and speaking up against gender injustice (for example, the 16 Days of Activism Against GenderBased Violence).

To deliver this vision, the Worldwide Board created a strategic plan, which included four key building blocks: l Transforming Lives: Programme and policy work for long-term community transformation l Nurturing Membership: Ongoing faith support, increasing global connections, supporting current members and reaching out to the next generation l Building Firm Foundations: Ensuring we meet governance requirements l Accessing Necessary Resources: Working in partnership, attracting new sources of income, receiving support from all provinces worldwide.

TRANSFORMING LIVES IS OUR GOAL

It has been a tough year, but Mothers’ Union is determined to help create a world where everyone can thrive, says CEO Bev Jullien

We are working to build a

“future free of poverty, violence and injustice

When COVID-19 struck, the Board re-examined the strategy, and decided that the overall direction was still the right one. However, they agreed that extra focus was needed, to ensure that Mothers’ Union could continue to survive, and thrive, into the future.

We cannot thank members enough for your generosity in responding to the Urgent Appeal in 2020, raising more than £860,000. The central team removed over £1m of costs. Including reducing staff by one third (there is now a team of 27 supporting 4 million members worldwide).

We want to retain a very strong focus on nurturing members. The final copy of Families Worldwide, and the first ever copy of the Annual Prayer Diary for 2021, were delivered direct to the door of all members for whom addresses were known. Midday prayers were made available through Facebook Live, and are also recorded for the Church of England DailyHope phone line, for those unable to access the internet. Other services were also created online, including the Thy Kingdom Come and Christmas Carol services. Communication across dioceses and continents increased, with the first ever online Member Update and Worldwide Gathering, both run by members, for members.

In 2021, the central charity is “cutting its cloth” to ensure that we continue to support you, whilst living within our means through the difficult times, and starting to build up reserves for future rainy days.

Savings and Credits

Our programme work will be “focused and funded” – concentrating on what matters most, and progressing in line with available funds. We are delighted that the Christmas campaign is enabling the work on literacy in the DRC to be extended – and that funds to continue the savings and credits programme in Tanzania have been secured. Make a Mother’s Day and the Christmas campaign this year will focus on enabling transformational work – and the Summer of Hope is designed to help you replenish your own funds to support local work, as well as strategic national or international projects.

Our aim is to continue to raise the voices of members against gender-based violence, in particular domestic abuse, which has increased during the pandemic – this year, we will begin to move from 16 Days to 365 Days of Activism, by giving you practical ideas for speaking up and supporting others locally, as well as continuing to work globally through the United Nations.

We will continue to use virtual communications to reach as many as possible centrally, and to give those we can reach the tools and resources to share more widely with those who cannot go online.

Safeguarding is more important than ever, and we will be working with the dioceses to ensure that we are managing data in line with data protection requirements. 2021 is the year for the Triennial Elections to the Worldwide Board, so Mary Sumner House will be managing the process together with diocesan presidents around the world.

I believe that, whilst exceptionally tough, the pandemic has given us the dual gifts of opening up new ways of working, and forcing us to focus on what matters most. I truly believe that, together, by God’s Grace in 2021, we will begin to move towards the vision of creating a world where everyone can thrive.