pastordawn BEYOND CHURCH
progressive visions of christianity beyond church
Mothers’ Day is not on the church’s liturgical calendar and yet the statisticians tell us that church attendance on Mothers’ Day is surpassed only by Christmas and Easter. Worship leaders who fail to mark the importance of this day do so at their peril; the same kind of peril which compels so many reluctant offspring to accompany their mothers to church. However, a simple liturgical nod in the direction of mothers or an over-the-top sentimental sermon all too often fail to capture the magnitude of the day’s significance in the history of women. Planning the liturgy is challenging enough, but writing the sermon is a challenge which promises to keep me toiling away into the dark hours of this coming Saturday. So, for my colleagues who share a similar plight: below you will find links to previous attempts to commemorate this day of days. Feel free to share your efforts with me in the comments section. Please! I need all the help you can offer!!! click on the links below for previous Mothers’ Day sermons:
Thank you Pastor Dawn for your many insights. Your insightfulness blends well with our Liturgical style based on Creation Spirituality. As I was looking for ideas on Easter VII this year, I stumbled across your Mother’s Day reflections from Easter VI and found that your sermon on Bring Many Names gave me some ideas on looking to new prophets. The Disciples were asked to do much the same when they had to take Matthias into their company. As you reflected on the Creed in your homily it also reminded me of the Creed we now use from Joan Chittister. Adapted slightly it goes like this:
We believe in God, who has created and who is creating, and whose divinity infuses life with the sacred. We believe in the multiple revelations of God, alive in every human heart,
expressed in every culture, found in all the wisdoms of the world.
We believe in Jesus the Christ, who leads us to the fullness of humanity, to what we are meant to become. Through Christ, we become new people, called beyond the consequences of our brokenness, lifted to the fullness of life.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the breath of God on earth, who keeps the Christ vision present to souls yet in the darkness, who gives light to hearts now blind, who infuses energy into spirits yet weary, isolated, searching and confused.
We believe in the Christ who calls us beyond the boundaries of ourselves, to forgiveness, and to everything that stretches our hearts to the dimensions of God. Forever, we will live in the embrace of God; for in life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us.
Thank you much for all your thoughts and writings,
Mary
Thank-you Mary: good to hear that these musings are helpful. Thank-you also for the expansive creed. I shall add it with credits to a collection I’m creating and hope to add to my site some day soon. This year for Easter VII (sometimes celebrated as Ascension Sunday) we will be turning to the Gospel of Mary for a liturgy I’m crafting under the working title: “Resurrecting Mary” – Mary is given such short shrift during the Easter season. Blessings upon your work. Shalom…