Sixty-six members of the Mothers’ Union in the Diocese of the North Eastern Caribbean and Aruba (NECA) met on Montserrat for the second Triennial Conference under the theme “A Celebration of Faith.” The conference which extended for a period of four days – March 31 to April 3, 2016 comprised of representatives from Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Kitts, St. Maarten and Saba.
The conference commenced on Thursday, March 31 with corporate worship at St. John’s Anglican Church. Present were the Mothers’ Union patron, The Rt. Rev. Leroy Errol Brooks, Archdeacons Alston Percival and Franklin Reid, the Rev. Canon Isaiah Phillip – the Diocesan Mothers’ Union Chaplain who delivered the sermon and Rev. Carlisle Vyphuis, Parish Priest, Montserrat.
In his address Canon Phillip combined selected bible passages from Deuteronomy, Chapter 6:1 -7, Hebrews, Chapter 11 29-39, Psalm 15 and Mathew 15: 16-21 to highlight the importance of the theme “A celebration of Faith.” Congregants were reminded of the importance of understanding faith, appreciating faith, affirming faith, nurturing faith as well as exercising faith similar to the examples of the heroes and heroines of faith recorded in Hebrews.
In his congratulatory remarks, Bishop Brooks noted that it was important for everyone to allow faith to impact their lives at all levels and cautioned that, “Faith is not an object to be possessed. It is a gift to be shared.”
The business session of the conference took place at the Look Out Primary School Auditorium. Archdeacon Percival declared the conference open and Deputy Governor, Alric Taylor gave the feature address. Presentations and interactive discussions on “Promoting gift based ministry”, Developing strategies to retain and grow membership” and “Using technology to enhance ministry and promote sustainable development” were conducted by Canon Philip, Archdeacon Reid and MU member Mrs Aldean Williams respectively.
Other aspects of the conference included reports from the various islands, the President and the Treasurer; a keenly contested quiz for the Mary Cornwall Trophy that was won by Anguilla; and elections of officers to manage the affairs of the Diocesan Council for the next triennial, 2017 – 2019. Mrs Ephena Mathew of Antigua was elected President and Mrs Claudia Williams of St. Kitts Vice President. The other positions will be filled at the next Diocesan Council meeting slated to take place in November.
Planned enrichment activities included a cocktail party hosted by the church, a concert featuring items from the various islands including Montserrat, and an island tour with visits to Richmond Hill and the Montserrat Volcanic Observatory as well as a beach picnic at Little Bay.
The group worshipped at St. James’ Church on Sunday 3rd. Plaques of appreciation for invaluable contribution to the development of the Mothers’ Union on Montserrat were distributed to members 80 years and older. Following the service, visits were made to centurion, Josephine Pond who is 107 years old and Esther Hogan who will be celebrating her ninetieth birthday in September.
All delegates described Conference 2016 as a resounding success. Credit must be given to the Diocesan Council for its thoughtfulness in planning, the Montserrat Mothers’ Union, in particularly its leader, Veronica Hickson; Fr. Carlisle Vyphuis and the vestry; indeed the entire community of Montserrat. It was a wonderful collaborative effort that ensured the success of the conference and demonstrated to all of us that “Montserrat is simply amazing”.
– Contributed
