Patron's Messages at St Paul's

Archbisop of Canterbury's Messages at St Paul's

Message from our Patron

It is a great honour to offer my congratulations as you mark the 150th anniversary of this remarkable charity, and a privilege to do so as I take up my role as your Patron.

This is a significant and joyful year for us both. As you reflect on one hundred and fifty years of faithful service, I do so at the beginning of my ministry as Archbishop of Canterbury, conscious of the shared call we bear to leadership grounded in justice, compassion, and the dignity of every person.

Since I began my ministry, I have had the opportunity to observe your work both here in Britain and Ireland and across the Anglican Communion. I have seen first-hand the depth of your commitment to addressing gender-based violence and to empowering women and girls through education, literacy, and numeracy. This work transforms lives: it enables women to lead with confidence, to advocate for themselves and others, and to build stronger families and communities rooted in hope.

Your ministry speaks powerfully to the Christian conviction that all people are made in the image of God, and that violence, inequality, and injustice have no place in the world God desires. By investing in women's leadership and education, you not only challenge systems of harm, but help to shape a future marked by dignity, peace, and shared flourishing.

I give thanks for the vision of your founder Mary Sumner and for the countless members, staff, volunteers, and supporters whose faithfulness over the past 150 years has sustained and grown this global movement.

Your presence across more than 80 countries stands as a testament to what is possible when faith is lived out through action.

As you look to the future, may you continue to be strengthened by partnership, renewed in purpose, and guided by hope. I send my prayers and very best wishes for your continued work, and for the women, families, and communities you serve across the world.

The Most Revd and Rt Hon. Dame Sarah Mullally

Archbishop of Canterbury

WWP Message at St Paul's

It is a delight to celebrate this special milestone with you, not only as your Worldwide President, but also as a fellow member of over 38 years.

Reaching our 150th anniversary as a movement is not just a mark of time, but a testament to faithful hearts, steady hands, and the many women and men who have walked together in prayer and purpose.

As a member of Mothers' Union, I have seen how powerful it is when we gather in fellowship, not simply as individuals, but as a community, a family that supports one another, encourages one another, and holds one another up in prayer. That same spirit of togetherness is at the heart of our movement.

Our work is sustained by more than programmes and projects although these are so important); it is sustained by the bonds we share, in churches, in homes, and in communities across the world. It is the simple, quiet acts of love: a prayer offered, a hand held, a shared meal, a listening ear. These are the moments that build hope and strengthen families.

On this anniversary, I give thanks for every person who has been part of our journey. We celebrate the fellowship that has carried us through 150 years, and the shared belief that we are better together.

May we continue to grow in friendship, prayer, and service, and may God bless our work and all who join in it, now and in the years ahead.

Kathleen Snow

Mothers' Union Worldwide President

WWP's Testimony Address

WWP Testimony Address
St. Paul’s Cathedral 150th Celebration Service - June 10, 2026

May the words of mouth and the meditations of my heart, be pleasing to you O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

It is good to be with you today. I am honoured and blessed to be sharing a few words on behalf of our Board and indeed the global Mothers’ Union. Our hearts are full of joy as we celebrate and worship together on this special occasion of our 150th anniversary of Mothers’ Union.

I quote from Psalm 107:1, His love endures forever. Many of you are aware that it is my custom to light a candle on my desk each morning to remind me of the light of Christ. I pray for His wisdom, His guidance and His words in all that I do.

I also pull out a card of scripture which guides me for the day. As I drafted this testimony, these words were on my heart, His love endures forever. I think of the 150 years of Mothers’ Union, and how His love has carried us over the years. It carried Mary Sumner when the Holy Spirit nudged her, tapped her on the shoulder and called her to start a movement of mothers to support and empower one another to build heathy families, healthy marriages and health communities. Healthy relationships.

She was intimidated initially and did not think that she could do it. But His love gave her that strength and courage to ‘step out of the boat’ and bring those women together in her parlour 150 years ago. So many of us never expect to be where we are, in leadership positions or doing His work as His hands and His feet. But His love endures and carries us on.

The Holy Spirit equips us to do this. He plants people around us to encourage us. He speaks through others with whom we are in relationship. It is all about relationship. Mary Sumner knew this when she gathered those few women together in her parlour.

She knew that relationships with each other would strengthen these women and empower them to do good in their communities, to do good in their families and to reach out to their neighbours. This relationship strengthened them in their faith as they prayed together. Is that not what He has done for us today, and what He has been doing for the last 150 years?

When I was a young mother, and working as a nurse, there were many Wednesday evenings when I would say to my husband Tim that I was too tired to go to our Mothers’ Union Branch meeting. But he would literally push me out the door, as he knew that I would return home refreshed and inspired, with a deeper faith, and more energy and enthusiasm to be a wife, mother, nurse and friend to many.

The words of Mary Sumner’s personal prayer demonstrate this: each day, touching as many lives as possible for Christ, whether through our words, our actions or how we live our lives. That is the essence of who we are.

We have been called to build His Kingdom here on earth. We do it wherever we live around the world. It is a way of life for us, and we are passionate about it. Founded on our faith and on prayer. His love endures forever.

Wherever I travel, whenever I meet Mothers’ Union members, we are living out this reality in our communities. It doesn’t matter what language we speak, what culture we live in, what area of the world in which we reside. We all believe in the same purpose, aim, objectives, mission, vision…however we wish to describe or explain ourselves. We are united in faith and in service. His love endures forever.

I would like to close with a story of who we are. I have so many stories that I could share, but this one has stayed with me from my recent visit to the Province of Wales. It is about love in action and faith in action.

I met a Mothers’ Union couple in a diocese in Wales, who shared with me their work in prison ministry. Fifteen years ago, they were away on vacation, and someone burgled their home. Upon their return, they notified the police; it took three weeks before the police arrested the individual and he was imprisoned.

After a bit, they decided that they wished to meet this man through the Restorative Justice Programme and forgive him for the damage he had done to their home, and to their lives. It took three years, but they eventually met this man and they forgave him.

They developed a relationship with him and began to pray with him. They then met with other prisoners and began to pray with them, support them and run programmes with them within the prison. They have been visiting prisoners two days a week since then for 15 years. The husband went into the ministry because of this life-changing experience and has been a Vicar for a number of years.

This is faith in action. This is love in action. This is what we do as Mothers’ Union members and what we have been doing for 150 years, affecting change, affecting policy, affecting people’s lives for the better. His love endures forever.

May we continue to light the way for generations to come.