leadinginworship

Mother's Day Prayer in a Pandemic

This Mother’s Day is different, God.
So many cannot visit their
beloved mothers or grandmothers,
or the women who have been like mothers.
People feel so lonely because their hands
are not held, their arms cannot hug.
Other families have had too much togetherness,
and the past weeks have been tumultuous
with tantrums and fights and frayed tempers,
and too many words said too quickly.
You are the one who hears our lament
about what is, and what we deeply regret.
Others are missing mothers or children who have died;
the recently bereaved may not have been able
to say in-person goodbyes,
they have not been able to have funerals.
You are the one who comforts us
when we are aching and bereft.
Thank you for new babies, born in a pandemic,
for mothers who carried them to term, birthed them
and for doctors and midwives and nurses who assisted.
Thank you for all the mothers who are
cooking and cleaning, caregiving and homeschooling children
who are missing their friends and activities.
Hear our prayer for mothers whose patience
is stretched to breaking,
who are worried about finances,
or who walk on eggshells around a violent partner.
Hear our prayer for children with jagged memories
of being hurt or neglected by their mothers,
and hear our prayer for mothers who minimize
or cannot face the damage they’ve done.
Broken family relationships hurt more on Mother’s Day.
Giver of Life, fill our congregation with love.
Open our ears to hear each other’s stories
so that we can be a community of hope,
nurturing each and every person
with tenderness and compassion,
each one a treasured member of the family of God.

Maternal God Prayer

Maternal God
you conceive us
give birth to us
nurse us
smile at us every day
protect us
feed us
give us words to say
show us how to walk
cheer for us in our successes
wipe our tears when we fail
encourage us
dream big for us
and love us for who we are.

Thank you that you
do not give up on us
when we
don’t call home
forget to visit
disappoint you
neglect what you’ve done for us
and think we did it by ourselves.
 
Open our eyes
to see those
who need the embrace
of your mothering love
who need
someone to be their champion,
someone to always give
the cup of cold water
and a second mile.
Help us this week
to take your love to heart
and embody it
like Jesus
deeply and tenderly.
Amen

Mothering God Prayer

Mothering God,

thank you for giving us life and breath on this most beautiful of days!

The sun beams out praise!

The leaves unfurl their green hallelujahs!

The nesting birds join the spring song of praise!

Buried in the soil, seeds leap upward at your command!

The glory of your goodness bursts out all around us,

our hearts overflow with your presence!

Today we say thank you for all who are nurturing life.

For those who give birth or adopt,

for those who cook and clean,

for those who change diapers and do laundry,

for those who listen and encourage,

for those who give undivided attention,

for those who provide the necessities of life

willingly, lovingly, consistently.

Be with those who face challenges,

give patience where there is frustration,

stamina where there is weariness,

and wisdom where there are dilemmas.

You walk beside us on long caregiving journeys,

and you won’t leave us.

We think especially today of those in our own community living in poverty

who have trouble putting food on the table and paying the rent;

guide our politicians as they make decisions that affect children.

We pray for places where life is threatened...

for Israel and Gaza where bombs are raining death,

and for Venezuela where political instability keeps continuing--

we long for your intervention in these aching places of the world.

In the news this week, we heard of the thousands

of species that face extinction because of the human footprint.

All of life on earth is your creation;

we repent that we have disregarded and ignored the treasure of diversity.

Help us find the will to change our ways and truly value all you made.

You hovered over the face of the deep in the dark with only your imagination;

you dreamed a world of life and beauty.

We want to dream together with you!

Send your Spirit on this community so that we can be your people of peace 

living life to the fullest on earth as it is in heaven.

In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen

Gentler Waters

It doesn’t always go as planned.
Bowled over with newborn love,
the way ahead seems clear and untroubled,
devotion deep and wide enough
to weather any storm.
So we say a prayer, Darling Mother,
for when the crying baby
will not be comforted,
and the night knows what
we want to do.
We say a prayer for when we
reach for the tantruming toddler,
knowing we barely control ourselves.
Prayers for the endless endless housework,
prayers for best things broken,
and for the children fighting,
prayers for facing down
our own anger, bitterness, fears, self-will.
Prayers for years of power struggles
and learning to let go.
And when they walk out the door,
and our great love surfaces
like a whale coming up for air,
be with us as we come to terms
with the mothering we’ve done,
and the mothering left undone.
Give us grace to apologize,
to forgive, even ourselves,
as we move into gentler waters
of parenting adults
no longer children.

Mothering Mended

It’s not easy to trace the tears,
the gaping holes where mothering
went wrong.
I can point to the withering look
that day at the dinner table
when I took my father’s attention.
Or maybe the stoney face
accusing me of losing something precious,
my protests unheard.
Or the subtle manipulations;
the distaste for what I wore,
the way I looked, laughed, talked.
I saw you coming to the front door,
and my heart panicked.
And yet, there was love,
and good times too.
You cutting up an apple for me
as we shared an evening snack,
or our walks along the beach.
The picture I have of you
trying to pick up a piece of driftwood
that you could never lift.
But I couldn’t trust you,
I never knew when you would turn.
I eventually walked out of that room
where mother was judge and jury.

Duty brought me back, not love.
When you had to come to me,
I had to let you in.
And in those final dependent years,
something shifted.
Was it power (yours? mine?)
or was it the pills they gave you,
pharmaceuticals revealing
some inner long hidden sensitivity?
No matter, for suddenly
there was a new language
of affection and appreciation,
so longed for, never before received.
You had the happy blessing of remembering
only pleasantries from our shared history.
I moved forward, trying not to look back.

At the end, you reached the shore alone
but I would have wanted to be there.
I only give thanks now for mothering
mended against all odds,
and the gift of bereavement.

Prayer to the Mother of Us All

We all have one.
She goes by different names:
mom, mama, mummy,
my mother, my birth mother,
the woman who bore me.
We may know her intimately,
or she may be just a name.
But it was she who carried us|
nurtured us with her body,
gave birth to us
and launched us into this wide world.

Some of us have experienced her love and care.
The deep gaze of tenderness and
the long slow work of constant love
evident in thousands of meals
and clean clothes and a ready ear
and picking up and dropping off
and watching and helping
and being tucked in and
a hand on the forehead when we are sick.
A mother’s love.

Others have felt other things;
putdowns, ridicule, judgement,
cruelty and abuse,
neglect and abandonment,
made all the more bitter since it comes
from one whose love we so crave.

And then there are the bereft,
torn from their mother’s embrace too soon,
when war or sickness or death
blighted a life-giving relationship.

Together we come to you for a blessing,
Mother of us all.
Bless the loved and the unloved,
the cherished and the orphaned.
Surround us with your tender care,
that forms us, kindness by kindness
into your family of peace.

Great Caregiver Prayer (for Mother's Day/Father's Day)

When we entered this world as tiny babies,
you gave us caregivers,
who watched and waited on us,
who fed and clothed us,
who taught us how to live.
We pause in this moment of silence to give our own thanks
for one special person who has changed our life:
For their work, and their love which has shaped us,
we give you thanks! [Silence]
[or alternatively if you have a small congregation, invite people to come and light a candle in memory and thanks for a caregiver]

We pray today for caregivers;
mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers,
aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters and cousins,
neighbours and family friends,
all who care for children.
Give us the wisdom we need to do this work!
Open our ears and eyes to the real needs of those in our charge;
open our hearts and hands to meet these needs.
Give us endurance, and patience and hope,
and above all compassion,
treating each child as we would want to be treated.

You know us, God;
you know that there are places where we have failed as caregivers;
we also need your help to mend broken or strained relationships,
we need forgiveness, we need closure.
Grant us peace in our relationships.

Our prayers are also directed today for caregivers
around the world who face special challenges;
for those many caregivers
who are caring for orphans from the tragedy of AIDS;
for caregivers who are without food,
walking long distances with children in their arms;
for caregivers in war-torn countries who are trying desperately
to protect their children from bombs and guns.
So many dangers in this world, Lord,
and you know them all.
Bring peace to our troubled times,
justice for those who are oppressed,
hope to those who are hopeless.

God, you love us with a father’s love,
you care for us more tenderly than any mother,
you are the Great Caregiver.
Help us this week to be aware of your love,
your gaze upon us,
encouraging us, sustaining us,
directing us.
Amen.

Mother's Day/Father's Day Offering Prayer

God of Great gifts,
we give you these gifts today
knowing that you are the Father of gifts.
You mother us constantly
providing for us, caring for us.
As we have been abundantly provided for,
so we give abundantly to the work that you give us to do,
the work of the church,
the care for those who are poor.
Accept these gifts in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Mother's Day/Father's Day Call to Worship

Father of us all, Mother of each one,
thank you for your love for us from the beginning of time.
You formed us when we were in our mother’s wombs,
you knit us together lovingly,
your devotion  to us has not failed,
your care has followed us our whole life long.
All we are and all we have, we owe to you,
and so on this, the Lord’s Day,
in this house devoted to your glory,
we give honour to you
with our hearts and hands and voices.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Prayer for all Caregivers

A child is a precious gift,
given into the hands of birth parents, adopted parents,
caregivers, relatives, and a church community.
Together we undertake the raising of children
and together we ask for help, God!
Give us endurance as we care for babies,
putting their needs ahead of our own,
caring through the bone-weariness of sleepless nights.
Give us patience as we care for toddlers,
guiding and correcting with warm voices and hearts.
As our young ones learn language,
help us to delight in the joy of discovery,
seeing the world through their new eyes;
help us to become like children.
As our children grow and mature,
give us wisdom to know when to hold on, and when to let go,
when to discipline, and when to comfort.

In caring for children, we admit that we have made mistakes,
we have put our own needs ahead of theirs,
we have not always been kind,
we have not always been the kind of parent we would like to be,
that you have called us to be.
Forgive us, and help us to be people who apologize,
modeling repentance for our children.
Today we also pray for parents and children who are grieving
because they have lost each other,
whether through death  or estrangement.
Thank you that you are our great Caregiver,
loving us with a love deeper and stronger
than any we have ever known.   Amen.

True home Call to Worship

Our call to worship is from Isaiah 49 (The Message, by Eugene Peterson)

"Can a mother forget the infant at her breast, walk away from the baby she bore?
But even if mothers forget,  I'd never forget you—never.
Look, I've written your names on the backs of my hands.
The walls you're rebuilding are never out of my sight."

Thank you, God, that worship is always our true home.
Thank you that it is here that we are welcomed,
here that we can show our true selves
and be truly accepted and loved for who we are.
Help us in this hour to rest in your love,
in the presence of our church family,
children of God, together.

God Our Champion: A Reading for Mother's Day/Father's Day

Everyone needs a champion,
someone who will be in your corner, always,
someone watching your back,
someone watching you, treasuring you,
keeping you in their heart.

Parents are nature’s champions,
biologically led to love and nurture,
feed and foster,
support and sustain.
They can’t keep their eyes off you.

From Adam and Eve on,
parents creating babies,
caring for their offspring,
all part of God’s plan for fruitfulness,
the multiplication of love
from generation to generation.
And this is a true story,
a story for many happy people,
dearly beloved by happy parents.
Other true stories need telling;
parents who champion themselves
at the expense of their offspring,
parents who hate themselves and
have no room in their hearts for love,
parents who abandon children,
or who are forced to abandon children,
parents who die, leaving orphans.
Who will care for the motherless,
who will cherish the fatherless,
who will champion the neglected?

God our Father, Life-giver,
you cannot forget the child you created,
God our Mother, Life-sustainer,
you cannot forget the child you nurse.
God our Parent, our Protector,
you are an ever present help in times of trouble.
You are the champion of the orphan,
you seek out the lost and the lonely,
the smallest lamb will not escape your notice.
You carry us in your arms,
you speak tenderly,
you seek justice for us,
you pronounce judgement on those who hurt us.
You provide a place for us,
people who shepherd us and take us into their own flock.
You raise up communities of nurturers,
groups of people  who will not let a single little one be lost.
Guardian of us all,
we give you thanks for mothers, fathers
and all who foster us;
gifts from your tender hands,
our Divine Champion. 

This can also be read by three readers, perhaps people of different ages, here is  a breakdown of parts:

Faithful and True: A Mother's Day Prayer

God of grace, thank you for the gift of motherhood:
for the joy of giving birth, for the delight of loving a child,
for the unfolding of a relationship over time.
From mothers cradling babies, to adults caregiving for aging parents,
the relationship of mother and child is a gift from you!

Thank you for all who mother us,
biological or adoptive mothers, caregivers, relatives and friends;
women who have been there for us, who have made us who we are.
Thank you, God, that even though mothers may fail us, you never fail us
and that you mother us through your love.
We are not perfect people, and in our intimate relationships, we are imperfect.
For all the ways we have as mothers, disappointed or failed our children, forgive us.
For all the ways we have as children, disappointed or failed our mothers, forgive us.
Give us the grace to say, “I’m sorry,” and the wisdom to make amends.

For mothers today we ask for patience, to allow our children to be children;
we ask for vision to see the long view, and the impact small parenting choices can make,
we ask for self-control,  so that we may model gracefulness in stressful situations.
Above all these we ask for love, pressed down, shaken together, running over!
We ask this in the name of Jesus, who knew the love of a mother,
faithful and true to the end, Amen.

God our Mother: Mother's Day Prayer

Loving God, we give thanks today for mothers!
Thank you for mothers who gave birth to us,
and women who have treated us as their own children.
You teach us how to be good mothers,
cherishing and protecting the children among us.
Help us mother lovingly, fairly, wisely and with great joy.
Help us raise our children to be the people they are born to be.

We need your comfort here today, God,
because some are missing mothers, some are missing children,
some are parted by distance or death.
Comfort those who have given up their child for adoption,
or who chose not to give birth, and had an abortion.
Comfort those who longed to be biological mothers, and could not.
We pray for those here whose mothers have disappointed them;
we ask for grace in relationships where there is pain and bitterness,
for healing in relationships where there is abuse and violence.
Help our congregation be a space where people can feel mothered,
their gifts and talents appreciated and nurtured.

Finally, we pray today for mothers around the world;
mothers who cannot feed their children,
mothers who are homeless or without a homeland;
mothers who must teach their children about the dangers of bombs and bullets.
Help us create a world where mothers can raise their children in peace and plenty.
God of mothers, who created mothers, who came as a child and had a mother,
God our Mother, loving us with a sweeter and deeper love than we have ever known,
hear our prayer this day, Amen.

Tender Benediction

Go into your week,
knowing that you are embraced by the love of God;
a love that is sweeter and more tender
than any you have ever known.

Mother's Day Call to Worship

And Jesus said, "Come!"
To all mothers and all children: he said, "Come!"
to the motherless and the childless: he said, "Come!"
to all who long to be mothered: he said, "Come!
Come unto me all ye who labour and are heavy-laden,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble of heart
and you will find rest for your souls."