Over 50 Unitarians from 14 MUA congregations attended the 147th Annual General Meeting of the Midland Unitarian Association at New Meeting Kidderminster on Saturday 6th April. Mr. Ash James of Kidderminster was elected as the new President, with Mrs. Jane Couper of Evesham becoming Vice-President. Mrs. Bronwen Taylor of Shrewsbury became Immediate Past President, and Rev. Sue Woolley and Mr. Sandy Ellis of Evesham continued in their roles as Secretary and Treasurer respectively – Mr. Ellis for his 31st consecutive year! We said farewell to three retiring members of the Committee – Rev. Peter Hewis, Rev. Ant Howe and Mr. Andrew Rosser, and welcomed three new members: Rev. Jeffrey Bowes of Coventry, Mr. David Heppingstall of Banbury, and Mr. Ian Kirby of Kidderminster.
After a splendid buffet lunch laid on by the Kidderminster congregation in the adjoining church hall, we came back into the church for the afternoon proceedings. Our new President, Mr. Ash James, led a short worship service with the theme ‘Let love continue long’. This was followed by our guest speaker, Rev. Rob Gregson, Director of Simple Gifts, the Unitarian Centre for Social Action in Bethnal Green. This will be fully reported in the April 2013 issue of MU Now.