My  mother has a huge heart. She’s determined, and she works hard to make her community safer, cleaner and more just. She’s part of her town’s planning board, she works in her local church, and she is a part of the Rotary. I would like to think that she passed down some of her dedication to peace and justice to me.

Mother’s Day was started by Anna Jarvis to honor the work of her own mother, who promoted peace and reconciliation after the Civil War. Jarvis promoted the holiday as a way of honoring the work of women to speak out, to organize, and to act to help the poor, the marginalized, the sick and those in need.

As I look around, I am so proud of this generation of mothers. Women who are organizing mask making drives, collecting food, caring for hospital and first response workers, arranging birthday parades, socially distanced block parties, window rainbows, and bear hunts all while baking bread and homeschooling their children. I am proud of so many families who are caring for our Family Promise guests, both taking care of their housing needs through temporary housing, and taking care of their need for fresh food. Central is hosting our second food collection and delivery for Family Promise this Friday, and our third collection on May 22.

I believe that when our children look back at this time when we all worked together to save people’s lives, when we all sacrificed, when we all pitched in to do what we could, that our children will have gratitude for all of the mothers and fathers who led them to be kind, to be generous and to be full of care. I think our children will recall that they gave up time with friends, birthday parties, school and sports so that the older members of our community would stay healthy. I think that they will remember wearing masks, collecting food, making cards, and caring for the needy that that everyone would have enough. I think that our children will look back at this time of sacrifice, and they will be more generous and kind because of it.

This Mother’s Day weekend, I hope that your day is full of hand-made cards, breakfast in bed, and time with your families. I hope that you have time to connect with old friends, or even with your own mothers. I also hope that we have some good weather- because you deserve it. You deserve it all. Thank you for honoring the tradition of Mother’s Day by caring for our community, by spreading joy and hope, and by teaching your children how to be generous and kind. Happy Mother’s Day!

Yours in grace,

Pastor Deborah