|
 The Union of Catholic
Mothers
"What
is it", "No I've never heard of it", "What is
it"?
These
are some of the questions and comments that are expressed on many
occasions. You too may be nodding your head and curious to know
more, so let me tell you something about 'The UCM
Organisation'
JUST
WHAT IS THE UNION OF CATHOLIC MOTHERS?
In
order to protect and preserve family and Christian values we work
on many issues and with various organisations and liaise closely
with
-
The
Catholic Women's league
-
Mother's
Union
-
Union
of Catholic Women's Organisations
-
The
National Board of Catholic Women
-
Cafod
-
The
Medaille Trust
-
Alert
-
Media
Watch
-
National
Council of Women
-
UCM
Scotland
-
UCM
Wales
-
Housing
Justice
-
DePaul
Trust
and
many others.
-
Our
public service officer monitors bills going through both
Houses of Parliament.
-
Our
welfare officer with her diocesan and parish welfare officers
looks to the needs of the disabled, elderly and those who are
ill. She works with the National Holiday and Rest Homes
Service to provide holidays and rest care where necessary.
-
There
are other officers who keep an eye on the media, organise the
annual pilgrimage to Walsingham in July and liaise with
organisations abroad and keep us informed.
There
are many other varied and challenging areas in which all members
are involved.
The
Aims Are
-
To
promote and protect family life
-
To encourage
marriage
-
To
promote a Catholic
education, which will prepare and provide practising Catholics for
the future.
Hopefully
these will provide and offer love and support for families in
difficulties and offer help to others finding it difficult to cope
in today's materialistic world!
In
these difficult times UCM are about challenge, listening,
supporting, hoping and most of all loving and caring.
Membership
is open to all Catholic women married or single, to non-Catholic
wives of Catholic husbands and may be extended to other Christian
women in sympathy with its aims and objectives.
We
take part in
and
in many other ecumenical services and celebrations.
To
celebrate is one of the things enjoyed by all members, because it
is a positive, happy and blessed way to show our trust in God and
to thank him for all that does for us.
(Condensed
from an article in the Catholic Universe, by Maureen McVann,
(National President of the UCM)
The
Patrons of the Union of Catholic Mothers are:
We
have a badge, which is presented to each member when she is
enrolled.
Our
foundation in Our Lady of the Sacred Heart will be 46 years old
this year, and the members do their best to uphold the aims and
objectives of the UCM. The
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Foundation of the Union of Catholic
Mothers (UCM) came into being on 27th
May 1964. After consultation with the then Parish Priest, Father
Isaac Savin and canvassing the households in the parish; it was
the idea of our founder member Mrs Winifred Crawley, who is still
a prominent member of our foundation. There was no hall or meeting
place in the parish then, so one of our founder members Mrs
Marilyn Sterling offered the use of her lounge at her house in
Cleveland Road. At that first meeting some 20 ladies attended. Our
first permanent meeting place was a room at the Rule & Compass
Public House in the village. From there we arranged fund raising events to build our
first Parish Hall, a large wooden hut, which still stands behind
the Church. Our fortnightly meetings and social events were held there
until the present Parish Hall was built in 1969 and we continued
our work for the Parish, the community and for charities.
The aim
of the UCM is to support the family in whatever way we can and
this includes the wider family of the Parish and Community. We have taken part in the Women’s World Day of Prayer for
many years and host the service every three years. We are
fortunate to have several founder members still with us, and at
this present time have 19 UCM members.
-
We
are kept informed of the work of the National UCM through our
Newspaper 'The Catholic Mother'.
-
We
take part in the Daily Mass Scheme which ensures that every
day there is a Mass being offered for our intentions and in
thanksgiving.
-
We
support our Parish Priest and help behind the scenes when
needed.
-
This
year 2010 we presented Fr. Michael with a cheque for £700.00
for Church Funds.
We must also say thank you for the support we have received
from the Parish Priests through the 46 years of our existence. We
meet alternate Wednesdays of each month at 8.00 pm in the Parish Hall
after evening Mass.
Remember
us when you have a spare evening and come along to our meeting,
you do not have to be a member to celebrate with us.
Our
Lady of the Sacred Heart UCM
celebrate the 40th anniversary of their foundation
UCM - WHY
NOT JOIN THEM
Meeting,
Caring and Sharing in Church and Community
Enjoying
Friendship, Fun and Faith
What do the
members of the Union of Catholic Mothers do? Well we work very
quietly behind the scenes; you will see some of our names on the
cleaning and flower lists.
When
tea/coffee and refreshments are required on any special occasion
we will organise it.
Four
Jumble Sales in a year raise money for church funds, as do our
hampers at the Christmas Bazaar and Summer Fete.
We
do not aim for any profit; most of the money raised goes to the
parish in one way or another.
On
the spiritual side we hope to support each other and all mothers
and carers in the parish with help and prayers or in any way we
can.
See our Parish
Newsletter for the date of the next meeting.
Dates
for our Jumble Sales and other events :
-
Meetings
resume, after the summer recess, in the Parish Hall on Wed 1st
September at 7.30 pm.
-
Jumble
Sales in the Parish Hall on Sat 4th September and Sat 2nd
October at 11.00 am.
-
Per
Una Clothes Sale in the Parish Hall on Wed 24th November from
4.00 pm to 9.00 pm.
Top
of Page
|
