21.09.2026
Commitment, Call, Community and Celebration – Mothers’ Union Festival Service
Mothers’ Union members in Dublin and Glendalough have been urged to look to the future with hope and continue to celebrate their organisation’s gifts. Members from branches across the dioceses gathered in Christ Church, Taney, yesterday (Sunday September 20) for their annual Festival Service marking the beginning of a new season.
The service of Songs of Praise in honour of Mary Sumner and 150 years of Mothers’ Union was celebrated by the Diocesan Chaplain, the Revd Colin McConaghie, Rector of Castleknock and Mulhuddart with Clonsilla. Archbishop Michael Jackson presided and the preacher was All Ireland Mothers’ Union Chaplain, the Revd Alistair Doyle, Rector of Arklow, Inch and Kilbride. The Rector of Taney, the Revd Nigel Pierpoint, was also in attendance.
During the service the Archbishop commissioned the new Mothers’ Union diocesan officers.
Drawing inspiration from Philippians 4:5 ‘Rejoice, let your gentleness be known to all. The Lord is here’, the Revd Alistair Doyle described the service as a ‘Holy Electric Picnic’ adding that it was a time to be joyful and to celebrate in God’s presence.
“We celebrate the 150th anniversary of Mary Sumner’s vision and mission. We rejoice in her legacy. We celebrate the ongoing work of our Mothers’ Union branches and we rejoice that we are together. We celebrate our common purpose and we give thanks for all that this movement has achieved in fostering faith, supporting families, transforming lives by empowering women and confronting injustice and violence. We rejoice in our work that is carried out with care, commitment and compassion,” he stated.
The preacher said that members in Ireland looked forward to celebrating the 140th year of Mothers’ Union on this island. This would bring a particular focus on Dublin and Glendalough and Raheny Parish where the first MU branch was established here by Annabella Hayes.
Mothers’ Union can look to the future with confidence and hope, he said, offering four words of encouragement: Commitment, Call, Community and Celebration.
Alistair urged members to rejoice in their commitment to their work and the causes they champion. He reminded them of their two calls – their call to serve, which they have responded to; and their call to others to ‘Join Us, Join In’ in the words of this year’s theme for Mothers’ Union Worldwide. He asked branches to continue to foster a culture of invitation.
He observed that Mothers’ Union forms a longstanding community. “In a time when loneliness and social isolation are the greatest diseases in the developed world, people seek belonging, something that gives human contact,” he said adding that churches and faith organisations offer this.
Finally, he asked members to keep the celebrations going. “When the Mothers’ Union celebrate you fill churches, you fill cathedrals – St Paul’s in London and Christ Church in Dublin were filled beyond capacity. And when you do, we get a glimpse of the house of the Lord as it should be – filled with love and joy and praise and we come away filled with God’s grace and hope,” he concluded.
Speaking after the service, Diocesan President, Ada Lawson continued the theme of celebration noting that the diocesan festival service was always a celebration of being together. She looked forward to next year’s celebration of the 140th anniversary of Mothers’ Union in Ireland. Ada announced details of an all–island art competition to mark the anniversary and said that information would be going to branches shortly.
