The UK Houses of Parliament was the venue on the 16th May for a major event supporting family values, held on behalf of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Attended by leading public figures and past recipients of the Family Values Award, the Family Values preview luncheon at the House of Lords also honoured former Bradford North MP Terry Rooney for his personal example of family life. Terry Rooney commented: “I was thrilled and humbled to receive this recognition – it was certainly a surprise to me as I didn’t know about it until it actually happened. For me, this is also a great acknowledgement of the contribution of my dear wife, Susanne, who I’ve been married to for 43 years.”
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Terry and Susanne Rooney are parents of three children and nine grandchildren. Terry served as MP for Bradford North for 20 years until 2010 and is highly-regarded by his former constituents. He and Susanne are practising members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Family Values preview luncheon was hosted by Lord Laird of Artigarvan and Elder Clifford T. Herbertson (Area Seventy representing the Church). They were joined by previous Family Values Award recipients Edmund Adamus (Director of Marriage and Family Life, Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster), Vivienne Pattison (Director, MediaWatch UK), and Caroline Julian from the think tank ResPublica who was representing its director, Phillip Blond.
The Church presents Family Values Awards to individuals in the public eye whose work and influence have a significant impact on family life within UK society. Previous award recipients include UK cabinet ministers, people of influence in the third sector and senior faith leaders.
“The stability and future of our society depends on family values. Such values need not only to be defended, in a large degree they need to be restored!” according to Elder Clifford T. Herbertson. “The family is at the centre of a civil and good society.”
Among the distinguished guests at the latest Family Values event were Lady Brennan of Bibury (Anglo-Spanish Society), David Rutley (MP for Macclesfield), Hamid Azad (CEO, Muslim Aid) and his associate M.Walyat Khokhar, Charles Byrne and Sue Smart from the Royal British Legion, Dr Harriet Crabtree (Director, The Inter Faith Network for the UK), Dr Don Horrocks (Evangelical Alliance), and Michael Wakelin (Director, Cambridge Coexist Programme),
There are over 188,000 Mormons in the UK, with more than 330 congregations.
As well as sponsoring the Family Values Award, the Church promotes free public access to family history research at 116 Family History Centres and via websites. British Mormons also work extensively with NHS Blood and Transplant in providing venues for blood donation and support the Poppy Appeal providing assistance to the serving and ex-Service community and their families.