For starters, why Women’s Ministry Sunday? Why a Sunday to acknowledge and honour the ministry of women, a ministry exercised within the church and beyond? First of all, let’s be clear that when we refer to ministry, we are not just referring to the ordained. We are proud in the Anglican Church that we have had ordained women for well over 40 years now, but a Sunday with a focus on women and their ministry is not referring only to those who are ordained: deacon, priest, or bishop. Women’s ministry refers to the work and activity that all women of faith do: day in, day out; week in, week out; month in, month out; and year in, year out. And, it refers to the ministry that women do, both within the church and beyond the church, in the wider community, and, often in collaboration with men. So, why a Women’s Ministry Sunday?
A partial answer to this question is found in the fact of women’s work so often being “invisible”. All too frequently, there is a “taken for granted” attitude about the work that women do, whether in the home, the church, or the workplace, aligned in part to the historic marginalization of women and its current manifestations, often more nuanced, but still very present. With specific respect to the church, imagine what it would be like if the women of the parish took a year’s leave of absence, initiating a moratorium on their ministry for 12 months!! What would such a step mean to the Altar Guild, the Choir, the Sunday School, the Anglican Church Women, Guilds, Mothers’ Union, the Lay Readers, Eucharistic Ministers, Servers, Parish Council, Committees, Bible Study Groups, Outreach Team, Office administration, and the list goes on? What would the parish look like?
The Anglican Church Women Board has drawn inspiration from its hymn, The Love of Jesus Calls Us, and the words of the last verse (with its emphasis on women and men working together in “new and wondrous ways” to bring about God’s kingdom in an ever changing world) to include men when focusing on the many ways women live out their baptismal covenant. This broadening of attention brings us to Women’s Ministry Sunday 2021 on February 7, the first Sunday in February when the Anglican Church Women Board is highlighting an organization that brings about positive changes globally, nationally, and locally, through prayer, advocacy, and direct action – the Mothers’ Union, a worldwide Christian organization with more than 4 million members in 84 countries. The Mothers’ Union vision is of a world where God’s love is shown through loving, respectful, and flourishing relationships. The Board could not have chosen better for Women’s Ministry Sunday 2021.
Happily, the Mothers’ Union fits perfectly with this collaborative enterprise of women and men ministering in our complex world, because, despite its name, the Mothers’ Union membership comprises not only mothers, but, indeed all women, as well as men! Its membership, therefore, includes female and male parents, singles, widows, widowers, grandparents – anyone interested in supporting marriage and family live, especially through times of adversity.
Mothers’ Union is firmly rooted in the voluntary ethos, another feature that makes it a perfect choice for focused attention on Women’s Ministry Sunday. Its governance, leadership, and programs are driven by and undertaken through members around the world as they respond to God’s call to faith and action. Mothers’ Union cares for you, your relationships, your family, and your community. Building, strengthening, and supporting relationships are part of all that the Mothers’ Union does.
We are very fortunate in our diocese to have a number of parishes with Mothers’ Union branches, as well as a very strong Diocesan Mothers’ Union Council. With or without a parish Mothers’ Union branch, all of us can celebrate the ministry of the Mothers’ Union and learn more about it on the Mothers’ Union webpage. The Board is delighted to be partnering with Mothers’ Union for our 2020/21 Annual Project, Supporting Parents: Stories That Matter. Do take the time to learn about this project by viewing a short video available on either the Mothers’ Union or Anglican Church Women Board’s webpages (under “Ministries” of the diocesan website: www.nspeidiocese.ca) to see why we encourage your generous support for Supporting Parents: Stories That Matter. To appreciate how this program responds to the specific culture in which it is offered and to see how it is inclusive of women and men, take the time to hear testimonials of the Mothers’ Union Positive Parenting Program in the Solomon Islands: https://youtube/HsQkjPQNe54
As prayer and its importance is central to the ministry of Mothers’ Union, let’s take to heart the Mothers’ Union Prayer as we honour this amazing fellowship of the faithful.
Loving Lord,
We thank you for your love so freely given to us all.
We pray for families around the world.
Bless the work of the Mothers’ Union
as we seek to share your love
through the encouragement, strengthening and support of marriage and family life.
Empowered by your Spirit, may we be united in prayer and worship,
and in love and service reach out as your hands across the world.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen
