Lent Poems: Mothering Sunday by Malcolm Guite

In today's video I refer to my repeated pedantic refrain in sermons every 4th Sunday in Lent that today isn't Mothers' Day but Mothering Sunday, and I have repeated that tendency on this blog in various forms, including mention of the origins of both Mothering Sunday and Mothers' Day.

But today, in the wake of some of the events this week all such pedantry should be abandoned and the place of mothers and women in general within society and especially the church needs to be loudly affirmed.

Mind you, given the state of my hair and collar in this video, I'm not sure that my Mum would have affirmed me much in the wake of it. I can hear her voice even now. As I say in it, in preparation for any public speaking I had to do as a child, she always put me over it in advance, and gave me some clear directions that I follow to this day. Among them was the instruction to check yourself in the mirror beforehand, to make sure you look presentable... Oops... Sorry mum...

ps. In its wisdom, the Methodist Church in Ireland also sets this day in the year, as the Sunday closest to St. Patrick's Day as a Day of Prayer for Ireland. On a local level we decided to focus on Women and Mothers this morning and incorporate such prayers into a monthly online communion tonight. Poem-wise I couldn't find anything to tie both themes together today... So I will offer an "extra" St. Patrick's Day poem on Wednesday.

Shalom

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