17. Second Sunday in May - Mother's Day

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17. Second Sunday in May - Mother's Day

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VERSION: 29 April 2002

 

MOTHER'S DAY

(Second Sunday in May)

 

 

Some of the following suggestions for Mother's Day may be used in addition to the regular readings etc appointed for the Sunday on which Mother's Day falls.

 

INVITATION TO THE CONFESSION OF SINS

Avoid using forms of confession of sin that 'put sins into the mouths of' mothers or others. It is preferable to use one of the standard forms of confession, with a special introduction. Here are some suggestions:

 

Friends in Christ:

The Lord our God has commanded us to honour our father and mother.

We are to fear and love God

so that we do not despise or anger our parents and others in authority,

but respect, obey, love, and serve them.

We have failed to keep God's commandment.

Therefore, let us confess our sins to God our Father

and ask him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to forgive us.

 

OR

Friends in Christ:

The Lord our God has told us to respect our father and mother.

We should honour and love God,

and so we should not look down on our parents and others in authority

or make them angry.

Instead, we should respect and love them, and help and obey them.

We have failed to keep God's commandment.

So let us confess our sins to God our Father

and ask him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to forgive us.

 

BLESSING AFTER THE OFFERING

A blessing of mothers may be considered, but be sensitive not to cause offence; for example, there may be women who desire to be mothers and can't be, or who have chosen not to be, or who have recently lost a child. The following procedure could be used in some circumstances, or blessings could be held in the church after the service for those who wish to remain behind. (See the document 'General notes and resources', under 'Blessings of people', in the 'General and seasonal' folder.) Or prayers such as those suggested below could be said instead.

 

After the offering has been presented, the pastor may ask all who are mothers and expectant mothers to come forward (or, in larger congregations, to rise) and the following prayer and blessing may be said.

 

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

 

Let us pray for these mothers.

Gracious God,

you chose Mary

to be the mother of your Son, Jesus Christ.

As you blessed her through her Son,

bless these mothers.

Grant them patience, wisdom, strength and joy,

so that they may care for and love

the children you have given to them

and placed in their care.

We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

 

May the God of our mother Sarah

be your fountain of life to bless + you

and give you health and happiness,

so that you may be a blessing to your family

and to all who are in your care.

Amen.

 

May Jesus, the Son of Mary, be your rock

to give you strength and health and peace,

so that you may be a rock for your family.

Amen.

 

May the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life,

protect you from all the powers of darkness

and give you joy in being a mother to your children.

Amen.

 

ADDITIONAL PRAYERS FOR MOTHER'S DAY

Whether or not there is a blessing for mothers, motherhood and mothers should be remembered in prayers and thanksgiving. One of the following petitions may be included in the prayer of the church:

 

We thank you for adopting us into your family through the miracle of baptism, and for calling us to be brothers and sisters to each other through Jesus, the only Son of God.

Today, loving Father, we pray for our mothers:

*

who cared for us when we were helpless

*

who comforted us when we were hurt

*

whose love and care we usually took for granted, as we often take your love for granted

Today we pray for:

*

those who are grieving the loss of their mother, maybe even years after they were separated

*

those who never knew their biological mother, and now yearn for her

*

those who have experienced the wonder of an adopted mother's love

*

the families separated in the wars in ___. Lord, give them special blessings.

Keep us united with Christ, so that we can love in the way he loves us and all people.

We ask this for Jesus' sake.

 

OR

Loving Father in heaven,

we thank you for the love of the mothers you have given us,

whose love is so precious that it can never be measured in dollars and cents,

whose time does not seem to be measured in the hours they put in per week,

whose patience seems to have no end and can even seem to stretch past breaking point.

May we see your loving hand behind them and guiding them.

We pray for those mothers who fear they will run out of love, or time, or patience,

and ask you to bless them with your own special love and the gifts of more time and more patience.

And we pray for children and fathers, that they may appreciate, love and support their mothers and wives.

We ask this in the name of Jesus our Lord and brother.

 

OR

God our Father, we pray:

for new mothers, coming to terms with both the joys and demands of motherhood;

for pregnant mothers, expectant and wondering, or fearful;

for those mothers who are tired, stressed, ill or depressed;

for those who struggle to balance the demands of work and children;

for those who have to struggle with difficult decisions about whether or not to become a mother or to have another child;

for those who are unable to feed their children due to poverty;

for those whose children have physical, mental or emotional disabilities;

for those who have children they do not want;

for those who raise children on their own;

for those who have lost a child through death or abortion;

for those who care for the children of others;

for those whose children have left home;

for those whose children have rejected their love;

and for those whose desire to be a mother has not been fulfilled.

Bless all mothers, that their love may be deep and tender,

and that they may lead their children to know and do what is good, living not for themselves, but for God and for others.

 

HYMNS AND SONGS FOR MOTHER'S DAY

The following family hymns and songs may be used for Mother's Day:

 

LHS

588

O blest the house, whate'er befall (* modernised version available)

589

O blessed home where man and wife

 

AT

141

Mary's child

212

Hush now (This lullaby speaks of God's parenting love)

 

TIS

581

Happy the home that welcomes you, Lord Jesus

 

The following hymn was written by Delores Jenson (alt. by David Sch¸tz). It may be sung to the tune Hyfrydol (LHS 164).

 

God gave mothers to protect us,

and to guide us in love's way.

They were with us from our cradle,

teaching us to watch and pray.

Precious Saviour, bless our mothers;

or our mothers' memory.

Precious Saviour, help us honour

those who gave us love so free.

 

As we grew they stayed beside us,

listening, loving constantly.

They spoke to us words of wisdom,

though, at times, so hard to see.

Precious Saviour, bless our mothers;

or our mothers' memory.

Precious Saviour, help us honour

those who taught us how to be.

 

(This verse may be sung by mothers who are present)

Now as mothers, Lord, we ask you

be our helper and our guide.

Give us courage, bless our efforts,

let us live love deep and wide.

Precious Saviour, keep us faithful,

teaching, leading, loving, true.

Precious Saviour, thanks for children;

they are precious to you too.