Enrolling, Enrolling, Enrolling

Once upon a fair time, the Mothers' Union was a power in the land, and in some lands it still is, but in its country of origin it tends to have aged into the Grandmothers' Union (or even an additional generation). You can visit a lot of churches and find a very fine MU banner embroidered with gold thread and a beautiful Virgin & Child bearing witness to a branch of the organisation which has long since been dissolved, rather like the standard of a vanished regiment laid up. I tend to see the MU as a bit of a sleeping giant, full of potential for social and spiritual good, but its hidebound constitution doesn't help: it's very hard to establish a Branch, as Branches require quite a lot of structural organisation rather than making it easy for a group of women who sympathise with the MU's aims getting together and doing stuff. In desperation the MU decided to admit gentlemen to membership some years ago, a move I have to say I entirely disapprove of, but then that's my old-fashioned feminism coming to the surface.

As the MU has a spiritual element, new members have to be admitted by a clergyperson. When Marion was our curate she was an MU member and she did it when necessary, so now she is gone the task devolves on me and I can't recall a time when I have ever been involved in admitting four members at once (only three of them female, and none under the age of 70). The rite of enrolment is simple and reminded me very much of admitting new cadets to the ATC: you state that the particular person is being admitted as a member of the branch concerned, shake their hand, and give them a membership card and a badge. This took place in the context of a Branch meeting where the members listened to the chap from the Town Council Youth Service describing his work, and in fact they asked some pretty astute questions. 

Our Pastoral Assistant Sally was one of the new members being enrolled. It was just as well she called to remind me I should have been there or it would have slipped my mind completely, despite me knowing full well about it two hours before. She and the other Swanvale Halt contingent in the Branch said I'd been delayed by an awkward phone call.