International Women’s Day at The Lighthouse Centre
Three of our members – Pat, Ronnie and Glenys, were invited to attend the The Lighthouse Centre’s International Women’s Day Event, taking place in the boardroom of Tranmere Rovers Football Club on 8th March 2023. The Lighthouse supports women and children survivors of domestic abuse, and there were about 20 of the Centre’s adult clients there, as well as the staff, and some representatives of Victimcare Merseyside. This is an organisation, set up by Emily Spurrell, the Merseyside Police and Crimes Commissioner, that advises and assists all victims of crime in our area.
The staff were very welcoming and we were provided with tea and Danish pastries to start, there were also other sweet delights on offer, and the Centre’s clients were allowed to take the leftovers home with them. The formal opening of the event was by the Lighthouse Centre manager, Jill Barr who welcomed us and told us what was to happen. We then heard from Justine Molyneux, CEO of Involve Northwest, of which the Lighthouse Centre is a part. The final introduction was by the Victimcare staff who told us something about their work. We were then free to visit the stands around the room, this included one from Victimcare at which we were given information and a goody bag, containing, amongst other things a small torch and an attack alarm for safety.
There were also 3 interactive activities:
Take a heart and write your wish for yourself on it.
Finish the sentence “I am a woman on a mission to…..” The response was written on a post-it note and stuck on to a mirror.
Write a letter to you 17 year-old self.
We then all sat around the room and some of the women read out their letters, which were very moving and powerful.
The final section involved a group empowerment session by the 2 Reiki practitioners that were there. The start of this was a dance and chant session, with participants formed into 2 circles. The photographs show 2 of our members participating with great enthusiasm. Following that was a meditation, all holding a crystal, listening to songs and chants and with the practitioners going around the room holding onto hands, and shoulders and placing a tuning fork over the heart space. Finally we all stood in a circle, with left hand on heart and right hand on the back of the person next to us and listened to an uplifting poem. We then all went our separate ways supposedly more empowered and aware of our divine femininity.
It was certainly an unusual event, and none of us were expecting it to turn out the way it did. But we are always glad to support the Lighthouse Centre in any way we can, they are doing valuable and essential work.