On Saturday 1 October 2022 I set out with excited anticipation to attend the Installation of Mrs Olive Rowe as MWI All Ireland President in Enniskillen Methodist Church and I was not disappointed.

As I arrived, people were inward bound from all over Ireland and Great Britain. We had MWI Ladies who made the journey from as far as Cork, Dublin, Donegal and to Islandmagee and many places in between.

We were honoured to have the President of the MCI, Rev David H Nixon, carry out the installation.

Olive chose the title “Faith over Fear” reflecting her personal feelings about taking on this role that included a lot of praying before she accepted the role. The Music provided was wonderful and the singing exceptional. We were particularly blessed with not one but two Choirs! The ladies from the RTE Broadcast, across the North Western District led the worship beautifully with Enniskillen Methodist Church Choir sharing in a powerful rendition of “ He Will Hold Me Fast”. Thank you to all!

Olive spoke about her two projects – in Year 1 of her appointment, ‘I am Girl’ a programme that seeks to improve the attendance of adolescent girls in schools. It will also educate boys, girls, teachers, parents, and community members on issues such as gender equality, menstrual hygiene management, gender-based violence and child protection. This is a Fields of Life programme set in Uganda. In Year 2 of her role as All Ireland President, Olive wants to focus on Promoting Positive Mental Health, Wellbeing and Recovery in Ireland. Something we are all very concerned about, particularly after the previous three years globally.

The Address was led by Bishop David McClay. He challenged us all to choose faith over fear and to reach out to others as we are called to do in our walk with God.

We all know that events on the scale of an All Ireland Service do not ‘just happen.’ Choir rehearsals, meetings about catering, organising sandwiches, traybakes and dietary alternatives, preparations for powerpoint, producing programmes, recording and subsequent publishing of the service, parking teams and even flower arranging require a great deal of hard work, volunteers, preparation and time! A HUGE thank you to everyone involved in the Installation Service, in the lead up and the clear up! We were blessed and left Enniskillen with our cups filled, both spiritually and in the form of wonderful Methodist Hospitality. We take this opportunity to reassure Olive of our prayerful and practical support as she leads us for the incoming two years. May we all embrace “Faith Over Fear”

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Moira McMurray
MWI General Secretary

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Details of photos:

1st photo – Bishop David McClay
2nd photo – Olive Rowe All Ireland President
3rd photo – Details of Olive's chosen charity
4th photo – Outgoing All Ireland President Joan Strong presenting Olive with the Chain of Office
5th photo – The President of MCI Rev David Nixon officially marking the start of Olive's term of office.