A Mothers’ Day Ceremony

May 11, 2014 • Download the ceremony (PDF)

Yesterday, after the worship service, we had a short Mothers’ Day ceremony to honor all our mothers and women. The worship service did not feature this occasion. In fact, I purposely ignored it, not mentioning it in my sermon, since I had planned on a surprise ceremony. This was also the first time that we had a special Mothers’ Day ceremony in our churches.

I thought it would be good to involve the whole congregation in the ceremony, so I first called on the husbands to read a verse or two each of Proverbs 31:10-31. After the Scripture reading, I then called all the mothers (and one expectant mother) to read a Mothers’ Day Responsive Prayer that I adopted from the Worship Helps blog. Then I called on one (or two) of their children to give two red roses to their mothers.

Christianity is a very exclusive religion, teaching that only those who have repented of their sin and believed in Christ alone are saved by grace alone. But the Christian religion is also a universal religion, since salvation includes believers from all walks of life—Jews and Gentiles, slave and free, male and female (Gal 3:28)—and from “every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev 5:9). So also, in this ceremony, the Mothers’ Day Responsive Prayer is inclusive of all the mothers, women and girls.

A Mothers’ Day Ceremony

Scripture Reading: Proverbs 31:10-31
Husbands will read 1-2 verses each.

A Mother’s Day Responsive Prayer
Adopted from http://worshiphelps.blogs.com/worship_helps/2006/05/a_mothers_day_l.html

Minister: Lord, on this day set aside to honor and remember mothers, we give you thanks for our mothers. We are grateful that you chose to give us life through them, and that they received the gift of life from your hands, and gave it to us. Thank you for the sacrifices they made in carrying us and giving us birth.
We thank you for the women who raised us, who were our mothers in childhood. Whether birth mom, adopted mom, older sister, aunt, grandmother, stepmother or someone else, we thank you for those women who held us and fed us, who cared for us and kissed away our pain. We pray that our lives may reflect the love they showed us, and that they would be pleased to be called our moms.

Mothers and congregation will read the prayer below responsively.

Mother: We pray for older moms whose children are grown.
Congregation: Grant them joy and satisfaction for a job well done.

Mother: We pray for new moms experiencing changes they could not predict.
Congregation: Grant them rest and peace as they trust you for the future.

Mother: We pray for pregnant women who will soon be moms.
Congregation: Grant them patience, good health, and good counsel until their covenant children are born.

Mother: We pray for moms who face the demands of single parenthood.
Congregation: Grant them strength, wisdom and financial stability.

Mother: We pray for moms who enjoy financial abundance.
Congregation: Grant them time with their families and generosity to others.

Mother: We pray for moms who are raising their children in poverty.
Congregation: Grant them relief and sufficient livelihood.

Mother: We pray for stepmoms.
Congregation: Grant them patience, understanding and love.

Mother: We pray for moms who are separated from their children.
Congregation: Grant them faith and hope.

Mother: We pray for moms in marriages that are in crisis.
Congregation: Grant them support and insight.

Mother: We pray for moms who have lost children.
Congregation: Grant them comfort in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Mother: We pray for mothers who aborted their children.
Congregation: Grant them repentance, forgiveness, healing and peace.

Mother: We pray for moms who gave up their children for adoption.
Congregation: Grant them peace and comfort as they trust in your providence.

Mother: We pray for adoptive mothers.
Congregation: Grant them joy and gratitude for the gift you have provided.

Mother: We pray for girls and women who think about being moms.
Congregation: Grant them wisdom and discernment.

Mother: We pray for women who desperately want, or wanted, to be moms.
Congregation: Grant them grace to accept your timing and will.

Mother: We pray for all women who have assumed the mother’s role in a child’s life.
Congregation: Grant them joy, love, and wisdom in raising them.

Mother: We pray for those people present who are grieving the loss of their mother in the past year.
Congregation: Grant them comfort and hope in Christ’s resurrection.

All mothers and women are invited to come to the front to be honored and to receive a rose from their children, and a blessing through prayer by the minister.

Minister: Lord, we thank you for the gift of motherhood. We thank you for the many examples of faithful mothers in Scripture, like Sarah, Ruth, Hannah, Elizabeth, Lois and Eunice. We are mindful this day of all these women who have inspired us by their motherly examples, and especially Mary the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, who found favor with God.

May these mothers gathered here today—Aling Charing, Evelyn, Aling Ising, Alice, Leah, Hazel, Ethel, Lovelyn, Cynthia, Tin-tin, Grace, LJ, Adora—emulate these examples of faith, hope, love and prayerfulness. And may they model for all the rest of us what it means to be your disciple. Bless them this day and always. In the name of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord who is like an eagle that spreads out its wings over its young to save, protect and nourish them. Amen.