The Women's Institute did it and now so is the Mothers' Union - though without resorting to the shock tactics of a certain calendar! The MU has been rebranded and revitalised and Rebecca Paveley and Sally Jarman spoke to some of the newer members of the MU to find out what persuaded them to join up.
IF the Women’s Institute used to be seen as ‘all Jam and Jerusalem’ then the Mothers’ Union was unfairly dismissed by many as all about knitting and making cups of tea. But this couldn’t be further from the truth today. Few organisations are as involved at the cutting edge in more than 75, often war-torn or damaged, countries across the world. On the front page of the MU website is the picture opposite – of army vehicles in Iraq, which runs alongside stories of the organisation’s works in Baghdad. Not what many will expect from the MU.
And how many people know that the MU is open to men as well as women?
Fiona Thomas, communications officer at the MU, said the overhaul was necessary because research showed them just how out of touch the organisation’s image had become with the reality of its work.
While the MU has a declining membership in this country – just under 100,000 – it is booming across the world, with 3.6 million members in 78 countries.
‘We are looking at what is making the MU so successful in African countries, for example, and seeing what we can learn from that. For instance we have 700,000 members in Tanzania alone.
‘In Africa we do have paid workers who run projects and that is one area we are looking at. In the UK we just have one full time community worker and we want to extend that.’
She said at one point the MU was even prepared to change its name – but the research showed that people had heard of it and it made sense to keep the name, but change the logo. The new logo is pictured below: the part of the world showing on the globe changes depending on whether the logo is being used in the Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas or Australasia.
The MU’s work at the cutting edge includes literacy and development programmes in Burundi, Malawi and Sudan and worldwide parenting programmes.
It is this kind of social policy which is drawing in younger members in the UK, said Primrose Gallimore, the diocesan MU President.
She is starting a tour of all 80 branches in Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire to urge members to be more outward looking in their activities. Her branch has gone from having regular meetings and speakers at a time which made it difficult for parents with children to attend, to having more loose ‘gatherings’ and small group work.
This, and the ability to become a ‘diocesan member’ rather than a branch member, may be some examples of ways forward, she says.
Someone who is about to sign up as a diocesan member is the Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd John Pritchard – proving that the MU is for men as well as women.
Kirsten Older joined the organisation 18 months ago, when she was just 16.
Mother Carol said that Kirsten, who is studying sports and exercise science at college, does get some strange looks when she tells people she is a member of the MU.
Carol said: ‘That is due to the perception of the MU as a load of old ladies. It’s only once you join you realise how untrue that is.’
Carol is a member of the Swan Team branch. She said she was able to join when the meeting times were changed to 2pm.
‘Once I joined I realised what a dynamic, massive missionary organisation it is and that it wasn’t just this bunch of old ladies knitting. The overseas work is just amazing.’
Ailsa Knightley is 42 and the quietly practical nature of the MU is what she most enjoys. ‘I work, I have two children and I’m a school governor, so I haven’t got much time to spare and sitting around on committees doesn’t really do it for me. What I like about the MU is that it’s not in your face and they don’t nag me if I don’t make meetings. Everyone knows what each other’s strengths are and they are happy to work with that.’
Ailsa helps feed back some of the news from the families of children at school to her MU branch in Leighton Buzzard. As a result of this, the branch have put together some popular evenings at the local school dealing with issues such as drugs, sex education and bereavement.
As a full-time mother, Caroline Luxford who is a member of the Stewkley branch near Milton Keynes says she was happy to get involved with running parenting classes and finds it very rewarding. The sessions, which include a teenage course, are well received locally and she feels it is a typical MU project; very practical and of benefit to the community.
‘I enjoy being part of the project and get a lot from it myself as well as seeing the benefit to other parents who come along.’
And in Botley, Oxford, member Nicola Matthews is carrying out pioneering work as a support worker for families in the Children’s Hospital at the John Radcliffe. She spends one day a week at the hospital, going round the children’s wards offering a listening ear, and practical help, to carers of young inpatients.
It can be as simple as offering to fetch a cup of tea and a sandwich for an exhausted parent who doesn’t like to leave their son or daughter, she says.
‘It is practical and emotional support. Some parents in there may be experiencing their darkest time, and they choose to share it with me. I 
can be there just to listen if need be.’
Her work is deeply appreciated by nurses and the MU hope to expand both at the JR and across the diocese to offer this kind of support in other hospitals.
Jean Vaughan also helps out at her local hospital, the Royal Berkshire in Reading. She knits hundreds of tiny clothes for premature babies in the Special Care Unit.
It is these practical pursuits that Jean feels the MU excels at. But she also enthuses about the literacy projects in Africa her branch has been supporting, which have also helped to ensure women involved in the programme are treated more like equals at home.
The commitment of those who are members is clear – most of those interviewed were squeezing their MU commitments among an already long list of jobs and responsibilities.
An African bishop visited Diocesan Church House recently, and saw the noticeboard of faces and names in reception, listing bishops, archdeacons and staff. ‘But where is your Mothers’ Union representative?’ he asked, genuinely shocked. ‘Why isn’t her name here? They are central to our work at home.’
That central role is something Primrose Gallimore – and her new recruits – intend to emulate, and soon.
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