Dear Cornerstone Family,
The origin of Mother’s Day traces back to the medieval period in what was originally called, “Mothering Sunday.” It was the one Sunday of the year where you were encouraged to return to the church where you were originally baptized—your “mother church.”
Historically, Mothering Sunday was celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent. It was treated as a mid-Lent respite—sometimes called Refreshment Sunday—and was a time to remember and celebrate the church’s role in “mothering” God’s children toward Christian maturity (Galatians 4:19; 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8)
Over time, the day fell out of use. Yet in the early twentieth century, it was revitalized in England by Constance Adelaide Smith, an Anglican clergyman’s wife. Smith wrote In Praise of Mother: A History of Mothering Sunday in 1913 followed by her most significant work, Revival of Mothering Sunday, in 1921.
In the Revival of Mothering Sunday, Smith identifies four “mothers” for which we are to give thanks: the church as spiritual mother, the mothers of our earthly homes, the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, and the gifts of mother earth.
In the United States, Mrs. Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia, PA, spearheaded the establishment of what we now call Mother’s Day. Motivated by a desire to honor her own mother after her death, Jarvis sponsored a memorial service in 1908 at Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, WV, to honor her mother and all the mothers in the church.
Following the success of the service, Jarvis began actively campaigning for Mother’s Day to become a nationally recognized holiday. After years of persistent advocacy, she finally got her wish. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson declared Mother’s Day a national holiday to be celebrated on the second Sunday of May.
G.K. Chesterton once wrote, “The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.” Despite the characteristic Chestertonian hyperbole, the point stands: the first and most formative influence of our lives often comes at home under the care of our mothers.
When we turn our attention to Scripture, we see the influence of women—especially mothers—from beginning to end. Whether Eve, the mother of all living, or Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, God has chosen mothers to preserve, nurture, and advance his saving purposes in the world.
For many of us, our first and most enduring exemplar of Christian faithfulness comes from our mothers. Even those who did not grow up with the witness of a Christian mother have been blessed by spiritual mothers. Women who have taught, served, led, and loved us—and in so doing have pointed us to Jesus Christ.
It’s fitting, then, that as we gather for worship on Mother’s Day, we give thanks for the many faithful mothers of various kinds whom God has used for our good and his eternal glory.
Your servant,
