Diocese of Brisbane
Diocese of Brisbane
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Diocesan President Mrs Shirley Beale |
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The Mothers’ Union began in the diocese in 1904 in the Brisbane suburb of Milton. A MU branch, concerned about the many deaths of women and small children in the district, paid for a nursing sister, Miss Emma Packer, to visit the homes of the poor. She used a bicycle to go on her rounds. This was the beginning of "The Mothers’ Union District Nurses’ Association”. That association, formerly known as St. Luke's Nursing Service, is now known as "Spiritus", a large Anglican Domiciliary Nursing Service.
In 1906, The Governor’s wife, Her Excellency Lady Chelmsford, was asked by the Archbishop, The Most Revd St. Clair Donaldson, to become Diocesan President of the fledgling organisation. With her acquiescence, she brought much needed support to MU.
The centenary of The Mother's Union as a Diocesan Organisation 1906-2006 was celebrated last year and a Centenary History published.
79 Branches with about 1470 financial members reach across the diocese from Bundaberg in the north, Coolangatta in the south, and Cunnamulla in the west. As the vision of Mary Sumner is fulfilled in our own time and place, these dedicated members are doing remarkable work for MU, their church and parishes, as well as the wider community.
The annual retiring collection from the diocese on Mothering Sunday or Mothers Day for MU in overseas countries last year resulted in $17,915.65 being donated. An amount of $9,167.15 was also collected to support the work of the Spiritus Chaplain.
101st Annual Report - 2007, view some of the individual reports included.
Events planned for 2008
The SWWRM Conference hosted by MU Australian Council will be held at the James Byrne Centre in Toowoomba in the Diocese of Brisbane from 2nd to 7th March 2008. Ninety four delegates will attend from UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Myanmar, PNG, South India, Melanesia, West Indies, Korea, Mary Sumner House, and Australia. A welcome Eucharist will be held at 5pm on 2nd March in St Luke's Anglican Church in Toowoomba.
Lady Day at St John's Cathedral will take place on 1st April with Archbishop Phillip Aspinall being the celebrant and the preacher being the newly elected Sub-Dean The Very Reverend Canon Dr. Peter Catt.
The Brisbane Diocese AGM will be held on Tuesday 11th March at Holy Trinity Church in Fortitude Valley, chaired by our newly elected Southern Region Bishop Geoffrey Smith. The guest speaker will be Mr Reg Bailey CEO of the Mothers' Union in the UK.
Two Council meetings will take place in Country areas of Beaudesert and Chinchilla, with members travelling west by coach to overnight in Chinchilla and taking the opportunity to relax and spend time with our Country members.
The Queensland State Conference will be held in Mackay from 31st May to 2nd June 2008.
Two Fact and Fun days are planned to enable some of our country members to be involved in practical workshops for programme planning.
Last Update: 7/3/2008