Pioneering Women in Health Care Week 4 Florence Nightingale will always be remembered as The Lady of the Lamp but becoming a nurse was not part of her expected life plan. She was expected to marry well and enjoy a gentrified life but she felt a call from God to persue a career in nursing at a time when nursing was not considered a respectable career. She overcame many objections and obstacles to find a role as a volunteer nurse at a Lutheran Community in Germany and later at the Scutari Hospital during the war in Crimea. Her presence was not well received initially but by using her skills as ..read more

Pioneering Women in Health Care Week 3 Cecily Saunders had always wanted to be a nurse but was overruled by her father and instead went to Oxford to study politics, philosophy and economics. When the second world was broke out she defied her parents and enrolled as a student nurse. Once qualified she returned to Oxford to complete her degree after a back injury. She worked as a social worker and during this time she moved from being agnostic to embracing the christian faith. Following the loss of people close to her Cecily felt called to provide a home where dying people could be treated both ..read more

Mermaids     Maggie Woods Co chair South A few weeks ago I met a mermaid on the beach near where I live. This was not a traditional mermaid, however ,with a harp and a fish tail but one wearing a wetsuit and a warm hat. This mermaid was part of a wild swimming group raising awareness and campaigning about the pollution in our rivers. They swim for twelve months of the year whenever the tide is high. They want the water safety  in our local river to be checked for safety on a regular basis for everyone’s benefit. I am full of admiration for them  but I do not thin ..read more

Pioneering women in Health Care Week 1 Mary Seacole was born in Jamaica the daughter of a creole mother and a Scottish father. Mary was a great traveller and wrote the first book published by a woman of colour. Despite this she was subject to prejudice and rejection in her life. At the outbreak of the first world war Mary was married and living in Essex. She funded herself to go to the Crimea to help and set up hotels for recuperating soldiers from both sides of the conflict. She also rode out to the battlefields with medical supplies. A gala was held in heer honour after the war but her stor ..read more

Co- Chair’s (North) Blog: 1st May 2023   Greetings! Two weeks ago we held our annual Swanwick Conference, when over 180 women of all ages and ethnicities joined together in fellowship and friendship. It was lovely to see friends reuniting, ‘first timers’ being welcomed and to see our guests from Methodist Women in Ireland – Joan, Carmel, Olive, and Louise Wilson, the World Secretary of the World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women. This year, our theme was ’Voices in Harmony’ and we certainly managed to sing our hearts out! On Friday evening, I was able to report on my visit ..read more

Bodies of Faith Flyer 11th May 2023 Our first Bodies of Faith Webinar takes place on Thursday 11th May – see flyer for more information and details of how to register your interest. Asian Theologians Conference 2023 This event takes place on Saturday 3rd June in Leicester and has received some support from MWiB as it promotes the work of Women Theologians – see flyer for more details. Mary B Advert The inaugural Mary Bosanquet Lecture with Canon Dr Paula Gooder (postponed from last year) takes place on Tuesday 27th June as a fringe event during Methodist Conference – full details for how to bo ..read more

  Week beginning April 22nd The Message: Mark 16: 19 – 20 [closing verses] ‘Then the Master Jesus, after briefing them, was taken up to Heaven, and he sat down beside God in the place of honour. And the disciples went everywhere preaching, the Master working right with them, validating the Message with indisputable evidence.’ It is hard to believe something that we have only heard about. We need to see or experience to gain understanding. Human nature so often looks for ‘proof’. When the women found the stone rolled back and Jesus tomb empty, the disciples didn’t at first believe them. T ..read more

Week beginning15th April The Message: Matthew 27:55 ‘There were also quite a few women watching from a distance, women who had followed Jesus from Galilee in order to serve him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary, the Mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the Zebedee brothers.’   The women who followed and supported Jesus were never far away. They watched as he was crucified, some watched as he was laid in the tomb, and came to keep vigil, where they witnessed the roll back of the stone covering the tomb’s entrance. Although frightened, they did not run away, and were reassured ..read more

Week beginning 8th April        [Easter Sunday 9th]      The Message version: Matthew 26:42 ‘Father, if there is no other way than this, drinking this cup to the dregs, I’m ready. Do it your way.’ Matthew 27: 19 ’Pilate’s wife sent him a message. ‘Don’t get mixed up in judging this noble man. I’ve just been through a long  and troubled night because of a dream about him.’’ There is so much humanity in the account of Holy week. Jesus, praying to be excused from what he knew lay ahead, but still submitting to God’s overall plan; t ..read more

The latest edition of Tree of Life from the World Federation has just arrived. An interesting read with among other things news about last months executive meeting and gathering of Helen Kim Memorial Scholars in Brazil. Tree of Life final ..read more