May 10, 2014

7 Reasons to Go to Church on Mother's Day

Mother's Day and the Church have always had a wary relationship. Some families always go to church before taking mom out to brunch. Others use it as an excuse to sleep in. Some churches give out flowers to all the mothers in the congregation. Others recognize the painful exclusion this can cause. And, anyway, we already have a Mother's Day in the Church -- it's called the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 15).

Nonetheless, there are some good reasons to go to church on Mother's Day. Well, I came up with seven anyway.

7 Reasons to Go to Church on Mother's Day

1. Guilt -- Your mother wants you to go to church. Be a good boy/girl and go to church. You wouldn't want to disappoint your mother on Mother's Day would you?

2. Flowers -- If you forgot to buy flowers you can always surreptitiously remove them from the altar after the service. If anyone questions you, simply tell them you're "bringing them to the home-bound." Then tell your mother she's not allowed to leave the house for the rest of the day.

3. Mary -- In John's gospel, Jesus "saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’" So, yes, Mary -- the God Bearer.

4. "Let it Be" -- If your priest is over 60, there's a good chance this Beatles song will end up as the offertory anthem. "And when I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be."

5. Dishes -- If you're a mother of young children, you know your well-intentioned cherubs made a mess in the kitchen trying to cook you breakfast. Go to church and you can avoid doing the dishes. Unless you're on the Altar Guild. 

6. Breakfast -- At least you'll be able to get a couple of donut holes at coffee hour. If your kids lovingly "made you breakfast," you can choke down a couple of bites before church then leave during the Peace to get at the baked goods in the parish hall before everybody else.

7. "Honor Thy (father and) Mother" -- It's a commandment. Hop to it!

I do hope you'll go to church on Mother's Day since it happens to, um, fall on a Sunday again this year. And I pray that your parish doesn't do anything weird/creepy to mark the occasion. The Eucharist shall suffice.

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8 comments:

Donna M said...

When oh when will the church realize that Mother's Day is not a Christian holiday. No more than Halloween is. And a "Mother's Day sermon" is inappropriate. An Easter sermon in appropriate, a Christmas sermon is appropriate, but not a Mother's Day sermon. Separation of church and secular holidays, that's what I say!

Unknown said...

actually,when John lennon wrote that song it was about his own mother named Mary...she died ,i think, before he was a Beatle...Basically- the reason i go to church every Sunday is for the do-nuts! nah- i love St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Metairie, La, and we have 2 cool priests and an awesome congregation. The youth just washed my car for "FREE" today. "Free" = $7.00 which is all the cash I had!

Tim Schenck said...

I agree Donna. There's no such thing as a "Mother's Day Sermon" unless it's preached about the BVM!

And Linda, since when did actual logic stop anyone from a liturgical car wreck?

Katrina said...

Yeah, unless you go to church at a Hallmark store, Mothers' Day isn't a sacred holiday. And we pray for all mothers, and everyone else too, every Sunday. This one is no different. We did used to give carnations away at our church, and then the lady who ordered them died and I (altar guild directress) didn't think about ordering them, so we decided to drop the tradition (along with the Tootsie Pops on Fathers' Day)

Solange De Santis said...

Sorry, I disagree. Looks like a narrow, rigid view of church. So church has nothing to say about what's going on in the wider world right outside its door? No comment about what people are thinking, feeling, doing, on this very day? Nothing to say about one of the most meaningful relationships of our lives - whether good, bad or nonexistent - simply because the "secular world" is marking it as Mother's Day? Seems to me like the attitude is grumpy and resentful.

Gale Grey said...

John Lennon's mother's name was Julia - from the White Album

Carol Louise said...

Lol will do

Unknown said...

Now that you are enjoying a new blog format, perhaps it is time to change the banner photo so that you use a different color scheme. The blue/black of the frame doesn't exactly match the tone of many of your observations and posts. Just saying...