Mothers’ Union festival of flowers
CHURCHES across the Black Country are hosting a special festival of flowesr to mark the centenary of Mary Sumner, founder of the Mothers’ Union.
Mary was born in Swinton, near Salford, in 1828 and in 1832 her family moved to Colwall near Ledbury, Herefordshire.
The daughter of a banker, she was educated at home and later travelled to Rome, where she met her future husband, Rev George Sumner, son of the Bishop of Winchester.
In 1876 in her husband’s parish, Old Alresford in Hampshire, after their eldest daughter gave birth, Mary remembered how difficult she had found motherhood and set up a meeting of mothers to
offer mutual support.
Mary’s Mothers’ Union spread across the Diocese of Winchester and then to other dioceses in England and further afield, so that by the beginning of the 20th century the Mothers’ Union had 169,000 members. Queen Victoria became patron of the Mothers’ Union in 1897.
Buried
Mary Sumner passed away in 1921 and was buried at Winchester Cathedral.
Jen Kerrison, Mothers’ Union Vice President of the Dudley Archdeaconry, told us, “Entry to the flower festivals is free, but donations are welcomed. Please come and marvel at the legacy of this determined grandma and visit the informal flower displays showing how her vision is carried on today by Christian women and men across the world.”
St John’s Church, Halesowen, will host a themed festival on Friday Augsut 6 and Saturday August 7, 10.30am to 4pm
St Edmund’s, Dudley, will host informal flower displays on Saturday, August 7, 11am to 1pm.
St Andrew’s, Netherton and St Peter’s, Darby End, will host informal flower displays on Saturday, August 7, at St Andrew’s 2pm to 4.30 pm, and Sunday August 8, at St Peter’s 2pm to 4.30pm.
Jen Kerrison said, “Information will be displayed to showcase Mary Sumner’s original vision and the amazing outworking of it locally, nationally, and worldwide today.
“There will be free tea and cake or biscuits. Do drop in!”
IT’S 40 YEARS since these photographs were taken, as folk across the Black Country joined with millions more across the country in celebrating the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. Wednesday, July 29, 1981, was the big day, when St Paul’s Cathedral in London was filled with 3,500 guests from around the world for the wedding service, and 2 million people lined the streets for the royal procession. Prince Charles’s brothers Prince
Andrew and Prince Edward were his supporters, equivalent of “best man”, while Princess Diana had five bridesmaids – Lady Sarah Armstrong-jones, 13-year-old India Hicks, six-year-old Catherine Cameron, 11-year-old Sarah-jane Gaselee, and five-year-old Clementine Hambro, along with page boys Lord Nicholas Windsor and Edward van Cutsem.
For many it was a fairy tale wedding but we all know that this fairy tale did not have a happy ending. The couple separated at the end of 1992 and were divorced in August 1996. Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997, while Prince Charles went on to marry his longtime lover Camilla Parker-bowles at Windsor Guildhall in April 2005. ■ What are your memories of the 1981 royal wedding? Have you any pictures of the celebrations in your area? Please share them with Bugle readers and email dshaw@blackcountrybugle.co.uk