Commissioning Service of the
World Wide President and Board of Trustees of the Mothers' Union

St Margaret's Church, Westminster Abbey

15 March 2001

Ellen MacArthur has recently become a national hero. As I expect you all know, this young woman, still in her early 20s, not only completed the Vendée Globe Round the World Single-handed Yacht Race, but also came in an amazing second. She thus became the youngest person and the fastest woman ever to complete this course. As I watched the televised story of that very considerable feat, I thought to myself over and again, 'It's impossible'. Yet she and a few others like her have done it. Any human achievement of that order verges on the impossible and calls forth from those involved reserves of strength and character that they did not know they possessed.

Later on in this service we shall hear an interpretation of a passage from St Paul's letter to the Colossians in which he reminds us that there can also be an 'impossibility' about the demands that God makes upon us - the things that He requires us to do. Paul was writing to a tiny congregation in Colossae about the need to show forth Christian witness in everything they do. Although no doubt there were some able people among them, most of the Christians would have been slaves or poor people. And they are being urged: 'Everything you do or say should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks to God the Father through him'. No doubt they too might have wondered as we do from time to time: 'How can we possibly make any impression on our world when so many are indifferent to the claims of the Christian faith?'

Although two thousand years have passed, we share with that congregation at Colossae the same goal of making a difference to our world and doing so in the same name and with the same joy.

It gives me great pleasure to be here at St Margaret's, Westminster this afternoon to commission Patricia Heywood as the new Mothers' Union WorldWide President. Trish, I am not aware of any plans you may have to sail around the world single-handed, but I am about to commission you to a task which may well seem 'impossible'. However, do not be daunted, and never despair, because the promise of Scripture and of Christian experience is that God makes the impossible possible, and in doing His will we discover within ourselves reserves of strength and character which we did not know we possessed. What God calls us to do He also empowers us to do. And it will encourage you as you recall that you have been elected to this post by MU members throughout the Anglican Communion. You take up your new office with a background of considerable experience of the work of the Mothers' Union in parish, diocese and, latterly, at provincial level as the first Provincial President of Scotland. And, not least, you come to this post as a mother yourself - and we welcome with you to this service your sons Matthew and George, your daughter-in-law Mary, and your grandsons Jonathan and Mark. We also welcome the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Most Revd Bruce Cameron, Bishop Michael Henley and other bishops, and no doubt others too from Scotland. And, in case someone mentions it later, I want to acknowledge with all the Scots present that I am aware that, although Ellen MacArthur is from Derbyshire, her great-grandparents came from the Isle of Skye!

I am told that under your Presidency the Mothers' Union in Scotland has been revitalised and re-energised, the membership has increased, and it has won greater recognition and respect within the Scottish Episcopal Church. What you have done and learned in Scotland will stand you in good stead for your new and wider responsibilities.

And you will be well aware that you are entering into a 'goodly heritage'. This is your day, and the day of the new Trustee Board, but I know that everyone here - most of all yourself - would want me to pay tribute to your predecessor, Christine Eames, for what she has achieved in her six years as World -Wide President. Unfortunately, Christine cannot be here today because she and Archbishop Robin are on a visit to New Zealand. But we do have with us three past Presidents: Rachel Nugee, Hazel Treadgold and Pat Harris.

Christine, of course, has been in the forefront of enabling the Mothers' Union to discover a role for itself in today's world as the Anglican missionary society dedicated to supporting and encouraging family life, and to giving help to families under stress. It is fair to say that, under Christine and her immediate predecessors, the Mothers' Union has become unashamedly project-oriented. The significant question, at every level of the Society's operation, has been 'how can we best enhance family life and help families in distress?' The various answers have included:

* work in over 70 prisons in the UK and Ireland, running visitor centres and mother & baby units in several women's' prisons; * the setting up of a number of child contact centres, where separated families can meet in a safe environment; * the sponsoring of parenting courses and parenting groups, which help parents to learn skills and befriend other parents who might otherwise be isolated within communities; * overseas, there has been increasing work among those with HIV and AIDS through awareness and education programmes; * in Burundi, Malawi and Uganda the Mothers' Union has started the largest adult literacy programme which it has ever undertaken, aimed at improving the lives of women and their families.

As I have said on several occasions before, it is especially by going overseas and visiting other Provinces of the Anglican Communion that one becomes aware of the huge significance within the life of our Church of the Mothers' Union. Eileen and I have recently returned from a two-week visit to the Anglican Church in Nigeria. Wherever we went, we were greeted by countless members of the Mothers' Union - in Gusau in the far north, where Christians are anxious about the introduction of Sharia law, in Onitsha and Owerri in the east, where a great movement of church growth is taking place, and in Lagos in the west, where the Mothers' Union is at the core of a strong and established church. Wherever we went they lined the streets; they sang irrepressibly; they overwhelmed us with the warmth of their welcome. Within the Anglican Communion, the African Church in particular has seen tremendous growth over the last 10 years; and in this growth women and young people have played an especially important part. It is a fact that the Mothers' Union is at the very heart of our Church in Africa, and if we in our own land were to pay more attention to the role that the Mothers' Union plays in Africa, this would enlarge our own sense of calling and awareness of the opportunities for Christian service.

We sometimes forget how recently it is in our own society that most women have come to expect to play a full part in our national and Church life. Many other parts of the world have not yet reached this point. In many cultures, women are regarded as subordinate to the male members of their society and treated accordingly. In helping to change this social climate the Mothers' Union has a major role for the future - not one of coercing, even less of exporting our own cultural presuppositions to other parts of the world. It will be the Mothers' Union locally who will influence and will begin to change the presuppositions and practices of Church and society, so that women can be treated with a new-found respect in accordance with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If the full potential of women is released in the countries of Africa and Asia there will be a much greater possibility of tackling some of the chronic social problems, where the experience of women can be a crucial resource.

This year the Mothers' Union is 125 years young. It is an organisation which has repeatedly and courageously faced the changes happening within society and considered what its own response should be. Society will go on changing; so will the Mothers' Union. In our own country, we all know that family life continues to be put under all kinds of pressures, yet the traditional family unit is still the basic building block of our society, and, thankfully, mothers are still central to most homes and to the overwhelming majority of children. We need the work and witness of the Mothers' Union more than ever, for its central task is to remind us of the importance of family life, the crucial presence of the wife and mother within it, the need for faithfulness within marriage, and the irreplaceable contribution of parental love, laughter and discipline as the seedbed for the nurture of children.

And, Trish, you are now to lead this world-wide society in its dedication to this great task. To encourage, support, strengthen and advise you along the way, you will have the new Trustee Body which it will also be my pleasure to commission in this service. Among them we have three newly elected members from the Anglican Communion overseas: from Australia, Rwanda and Southern Africa. These three women will bring a new perspective and dimension to the discussions and decision-making at Mary Sumner House. They will also be a visible reminder that you, Trish, are supported by the prayers and goodwill of many thousands of women all over the world. Like seed growing secretly, they will be praying for you that you would bear much fruit, even at times when you will be fast asleep! It will, indeed, be prayer without ceasing. And whenever you feel - as you will do often - totally inadequate to the impossible task set before you, remember the parable of the mustard seed: smaller than any seed in the ground at its sowing, yet when it grows it forms branches so large that the birds can settle in its shade. May the branches of the Mothers' Union throughout the world offer shade and comfort to many!

A final thought or two about that astonishing young woman, Ellen MacArthur. First, although she sailed solo round the world, she was never completely cut off. She had the support of others who were out of sight but always within reach - by email and fax machine. She could rely on their advice and encouragement. They were a comfort and strength to her. And, Trish, you will know and feel that too. But the most significant difference between your challenge and Ellen MacArthur's, the point where the analogy breaks down, is that you are not in the boat on your own. You may be the skipper but you have a crew and they are loyal, committed, prayerful and alert. You are being commissioned together today and I am confident that together you will do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

But there is one other thing I want to note about Ellen MacArthur. One of the most remarkable things that she said of her voyage was that throughout it she never regarded the sea as her enemy. The wind and the waves, even at their most frightening and turbulent, were simply being themselves, and were the elements which carried her along and eventually brought her to her goal. So for you, Trish, even in the most frightening and turbulent of moments, when the task God has given you seems quite impossible, remember God's hand is always with you, to carry you along, to support and guide you. The challenges may seem impossible - but nothing can defeat the God in whom we trust and who alone is our shield and our defender. 'Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus as you give thanks to God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ'.