|
May 7, 2025
Mother’s Day is this Sunday!
The church often does special things to celebrate all the mothers in the congregation. In the last decade or so we have begun to understand that not all people can be mothers, want to be mothers, had loving mothers, or even know their mothers. With this understanding I think we have become more sensitive to what a mothers’ love is. People of all genders, cultures, races and sexual orientations act as loving mothers. It is about intention. True motherly love is much more akin to the love we experience from God.
God's love and a mother’s love are often compared because they share key qualities: unconditionality, nurturing care, compassion, protection, and sacrifice. While the Bible doesn't say explicitly that a mother's love is like God's, it uses maternal imagery to help us understand the depth and tenderness of God's love.
Isaiah 66:13
As a mother comforts her child,
so I will comfort you;
you shall be comforted in Jerusalem
As Christians and Methodists, we all share some very famous and wonderful mothers.
Sarah the first wife of Abraham and the matriarch of the Hebrew people.
In Hebrew the meaning of the name Sarah is “princess.” Sarah was the wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac in the Bible. Her name was originally Sarai (quarrelsome), but God commanded that her name be changed to Sarah before the birth of her son. Scripture tells us that she was either 90 or 91 when Isaac was born.
Susanna Wesley
She was born in 1669, the daughter of a minister. Susanna Wesley had a strong influence on her children and thus on the Methodist movement. She was the devoted mother of at least 19 children, 10 of whom lived to adulthood.
Marjorie Matthews
This 4-foot-11-inch grandmother was the first woman elected bishop of any mainline Christian denomination. Born in Onawa, Michigan, Matthews was ordained an elder in 1965 at the age of 49. When she was consecrated as a Methodist Bishop in 1980, the episcopal stole that was hung around her neck, designed for a 6-foot- tall man, hung down her robe and continued along the floor.
Leontine Kelly
This mother and grandmother is the first African-American woman elected bishop in The United Methodist Church. Kelly grew up in The Methodist Church. Kelly was ordained an elder in 1977. She went on to become the first African-American woman elected to the Episcopacy in 1984. She died in 2012.
Let’s celebrate all mothers and all people who share motherly love!
We will have a photo booth set up outside the Welcome Center. Come take a photo with your friends, family to celebrate Mother’s Day!
Blessings,
Pastor Deb
| 
