As the Mothers' Union marks its 150th anniversary with a challenge to grow membership, Diocesan Chaplain Rev'd Mark Williams reflects on where growth really begins.

As part of the 150th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the Mothers' Union, each diocese is being challenged to grow their membership by 150 members. The challenge to grow of course chimes with that of the church in general. But how?

I remember this question being addressed in the 1990s when the then Archbishop of Canterbury called for a decade of evangelism. Ten years were to be given to evangelistic outreach through missions, guest services, back to church Sundays, various evangelism courses and more. Many parishes took up the challenge. The result? Overall attendance continued to fall.

Now I am not saying these events are not important, and I commend every parish for having a go. "Better to light a candle than curse the darkness," as the saying goes. But have we missed something?

In the well-known story of Jesus' visit to the home of Mary and Martha in Luke 10, a flustered Martha is overwhelmed by her preparations for dinner. It is a two-person job and Mary has gone missing. Bursting in on Mary sitting at Jesus' feet, Martha angrily berates the Lord for not caring about all the hard work she is doing on her own and demands he send her sister back in to help her. Jesus' response is:

"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her."

In the storm of activity and the whirlwind of busyness which was the house of Martha and Mary, Jesus was the still centre — the place not only of rest but of focused attention. Here Jesus is bringing Martha back to the one thing of primary importance: being with him.

This is the starting point and the goal. Jesus. Our faith begins and ends here, and not in the things we do, good and well-intentioned as they are. In all we are called to do, we must do it connected to Jesus, the source of life. He is the vine and we are the branches — attached to him the fruit grows (John 15:1ff). He is the builder of the house and all our labours are in vain unless we build with and on him (Psalm 127:1). We are to seek him and his kingdom first, and all else will then be added (Matthew 6:33). When Jesus called his disciples it was in the first place to be with him before being sent out (Mark 3:14).

My challenge then to the Mothers' Union for my chaplaincy is to make prayer more of a priority. It is an organisation already blessed with lots of wonderful, hard-working Marthas. But growth starts at the centre, not the circumference. The house is built from the foundation up, not the roof down. The most important thing — the one thing needed at this time, which Mary Sumner herself discovered — is prayer. And what comes out of prayer will not be taken away from us.

Lighting the way for generations to come

Carrying the torch for the Mothers' Union

Mothers' Union torches begin their journey across the diocese