A message from our Branch Leader, Jenny

Hello everyone, we are still in lockdown but there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and hopefully, we will be able to meet again soon at our branch meetings.

In some ways during the past year, we have been like our members who are in the Indoor Members Circle, thinking and praying for each other. Here is a brief history of that circle – it was started in 1921 by Mrs Edith Lucy Mosse for anyone who couldn’t take part in the activities of their branch, but who still supported the work of the Mothers’ Union. She was it’s first Central Correspondence.

In 1891 Edith married the Rev William Mosse, their first parish was in Redditch, Worcestershire. After two years they moved to The Lickey in Birmingham diocese, then in 1914 the family moved to Moseley where soon after she became seriously ill and more of an invalid. Further ill fortune followed when their daughter Mary died, aged 23 years old and Kathleen, another daughter became ill and her husband’s deteriorating health became a problem with his work. Edith realised that as she prayed for others it helped with her own suffering and gave great comfort.

She then submitted a scheme to MU Head Office with the suggestion of praying together could be worthwhile, this lead in 1918 to an experimental group being set up in the Birmingham diocese under the title “”Prisoners of God”, This idea spread to other dioceses and in 1921 was officially incorporated in the MU as the “Invalid Members’ Prayer Circle. By 1928 there were over 1,000 members in 41 dioceses. Edith continued to write for the IMPC until her death in 1943.

By the 1960’s the word invalid in the title was disliked and in 1971 the title was changed to “Indoor Members’ Prayer Circle”. In 1991 prayer leaflets were issued three times a year to IMPC members, the World Wide President sending a letter at Christmas. The leaflets were so popular both with IMPC and branch members, this lead in 2009 becoming the Families Worldwide booklet. IMPC members receiving a letter and card from our World Wide President at Christmas and Easter, this is now being discussed at Mary Sumner House better ways of serving the members.
(This article was written by Shiela Alton, Southwell and Nottingham Area and can be seen in full on the MU website here https://www.mothersunion.org/news/history-indoor-members-prayer-circle)

If members haven’t paid their 2021 subscriptions and still wish to do so please contact me if any help is required.

God be with you all, Jenny