Today is both Mothering Sunday and also our annual Church Gift Day, it also happens to mark the mid way point of the season of Lent. No one can be certain about the origins of Mothering Sunday although it seems to have had some links with people visiting their ‘Mother Church’ in their particular area or diocese. It was also the one day in the year when those people working as domestic servants were allowed to visit their family.
Today Mothering Sunday has become a time to celebrate and give thanks for the love and care we have received from our mothers. Mothering Sunday can however be a difficult time for some, especially if their relationship with their mother was not easy, or for those women who have lost children or who have not been able to have children of their own. So on Mothering Sunday we give thanks for those who in our lives have supported, nurtured and loved us, irrespective of who they may be.
Giving thanks is an important aspect of the Christian faith. St. Paul teaches: "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians 5:18) It is important to thank God for the good things in our lives, and also to remember the ways in which he shows his love and care for us. There are many ways we can do this: through prayer, worship, and our giving – of ourselves, our time, our gifts and abilities, and also our money. As we celebrate Mothering Sunday it is an opportunity to think not only about our own mothers, but also about how much we have received from God, and an opportunity for us to give back to him to support the work of the church of which we are all a part.
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