Mother’s Day is upon us!  What a great holiday to celebrate our moms!

Mother’s Day today is a lot different than when I was younger.  When I was a kid, it was about bringing home your “I love you, Mom” scrawled in crayon on a doily pasted to construction paper.  Or maybe you gave that flower you’d been growing in a dixie cup (that may or may not be thriving).

That was Mother’s Day.  It was simple and it meant a lot to moms.  Today, the holiday is not quite as simple but that doesn’t mean that it is any less meaningful.  In fact, it is far more meaningful than it used to be, if you ask me.

Today we have thankfully broadened the definition of “mom” to include women beyond those who are biological mothers.  Grandmothers, aunts, sisters, cousins, and friends are all women who have been mothers to children in their lives; especially when biological mothers are not able to be present.  We include them in our celebrations with greater intentionality.

Today, we also celebrate families with two moms; families where the parents are of the same gender.  This is something that would have been unheard of years ago and it is such a breath of fresh air to include these families on Mother’s Day.

In my work, I have also become acutely aware of how Mother’s Day can be a difficult holiday for people.  There are many whose mothers have died and this holiday highlights their absence and, consequently, it can become a very sad day.

There are also those whose mothers were absent and those who experienced abuse at the hands of their mothers.  These people often understandably resent this day of forced gratitude for something they never experienced.  This can make Mother’s Day a complicated holiday, indeed.

Still, expanding the holiday to include different manifestations of motherhood and, yes, acknowledging the painful side of some of those relationships is a good thing.  It is an honest thing.  It says that Norman Rockwell is only one kind of picture.  It says that relationships are not one-dimensional and we grow, for better or for worse, because of them. 

This Mother’s Day, I hope you are grateful for your mom and can celebrate her and what she has done for you.  

If you are not able to do this because she has passed away, I hope you can use the day to cherish good memories.

If you are not able to do this because of a hurtful past, I hope that you can use the day to grapple with forgiveness and an appreciation of how special you are in spite of a less-than-caring upbringing.  

In any case, I hope you will join us in worship on Mother’s Day to remember that, above all else, you have a divine parent who always delights in who you are and who you can become.

See you in church,

–Rev. Dominic

The Changing Face of Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is upon us!  What a great holiday to celebrate our moms!

Mother’s Day today is a lot different than when I was younger.  When I was a kid, it was about bringing home your “I love you, Mom” scrawled in crayon on a doily pasted to construction paper.  Or maybe you gave that flower you’d been growing in a dixie cup (that may or may not be thriving).

That was Mother’s Day.  It was simple and it meant a lot to moms.  Today, the holiday is not quite as simple but that doesn’t mean that it is any less meaningful.  In fact, it is far more meaningful than it used to be, if you ask me.

Today we have thankfully broadened the definition of “mom” to include women beyond those who are biological mothers.  Grandmothers, aunts, sisters, cousins, and friends are all women who have been mothers to children in their lives; especially when biological mothers are not able to be present.  We include them in our celebrations with greater intentionality.

Today, we also celebrate families with two moms; families where the parents are of the same gender.  This is something that would have been unheard of years ago and it is such a breath of fresh air to include these families on Mother’s Day.

In my work, I have also become acutely aware of how Mother’s Day can be a difficult holiday for people.  There are many whose mothers have died and this holiday highlights their absence and, consequently, it can become a very sad day.

There are also those whose mothers were absent and those who experienced abuse at the hands of their mothers.  These people often understandably resent this day of forced gratitude for something they never experienced.  This can make Mother’s Day a complicated holiday, indeed.

Still, expanding the holiday to include different manifestations of motherhood and, yes, acknowledging the painful side of some of those relationships is a good thing.  It is an honest thing.  It says that Norman Rockwell is only one kind of picture.  It says that relationships are not one-dimensional and we grow, for better or for worse, because of them. 

This Mother’s Day, I hope you are grateful for your mom and can celebrate her and what she has done for you.  

If you are not able to do this because she has passed away, I hope you can use the day to cherish good memories.

If you are not able to do this because of a hurtful past, I hope that you can use the day to grapple with forgiveness and an appreciation of how special you are in spite of a less-than-caring upbringing.  

In any case, I hope you will join us in worship on Mother’s Day to remember that, above all else, you have a divine parent who always delights in who you are and who you can become.

See you in church,

–Rev. Dominic