Some little green shoots of ideas and actions
It is the small things that matter most and when joined together they can make an enormous impact.
“WELL” SAID the 85 year old to the younger Rev Michelle, “I got cramp, fell off my lilo, needed the loo, somehow overslept, but hey we survived the night!
Although my sleeping bag made me feel as if I was in a sausage skin. Is that normal?”
We have not got the answer from Michelle who is the Mothers’ Union Huddersfield Episcopal Area Chaplain.
She may well have been asking the same questions and suffering in the same way.
So what on earth made these two Mothers’ Union ladies, Cherry and Michelle, camp on the grass at the back of St John’s Church in Rastrick, the other night?
They braved the cold and uncomfortable nature of the night, and made them experience some of the discomforts that sleeping in a tent in the cold would be like.
They were collecting for Shelter Box through a scheme called Tents for Lent, and many of the people at St John’s Church sponsored this wacky sleep out.
Together, with some Gift Aid yet to be added on, they raised just short of £1500.
Shelter Box is an international disaster relief charity established in 2000 and it provides emergency shelter and other aid items to families around the world who have lost their homes to disaster or conflict.
Think of the Ukraine.
There are many activities undertaken by Mothers’
Union Members and many are small and may seem insignificant in this world where there are big problems and we may think that we need big solutions.
Sheran Harper, our Worldwide President, says
that by joining the dots of all of the little things that our members do, it can add up to a very healthy landscape.
This year the MU theme is Transformation... Now!
With little green shoots of ideas and action we can aim to stop hunger and increase self reliance, stop violence through peace and safety education, and stop gender injustice.
Calling for an end to violence and domestic abuse unites 6,000 organisations in over 175 countries... we cannot do it alone, but we are a voice to be heard.
Different initiatives bring together small groups of people equipping them with skills and confidence to create change.
Look at parent and toddler groups, safe spaces for children in the community, prison visits, receiving a small knitted toy or simply catching up to share a story.
It is the small things that matter most and when joined together they can make an enormous impact.
But, sleeping out in a tent in Rastrick and raising almost £1500 was no small effort or achievement.
Well done Cherry and Rev Michelle.
Fund out more about what the MU is and does from me juliatum65a@gmail. com