Here’s
a prayer of thanksgiving and intercession for Mothering Sunday (Lent 4) or
Mother’s Day. It was written by Rev Margaret Whyte, and posted on the Church of
Scotland’s Starters for Sunday website.
Pastoral Prayer: Mothering Sunday
God
of all Living and Loving:
How
pleasant it is when women, men, and children
live
together in unity!
How
noble is your creation and the world that you have made!
How
blessed we are to receive the gifts of life and love!
We
are thankful for families,
where
scattered piles of stuff testify that we live fully in the moment;
where
the noise of laughter and the silence of sadness are freely shared;
We
are thankful for families,
where
we find sanctuary from danger and judgment;
where
words of love and openness are the rule of life.
We
are thankful for families,
where
our differences are the spices of life;
where
our unity is something that we can always take for granted.
We
grieve for families,
where
violence and rejection are living realities;
where
hearts are broken, and dreams are shattered.
We
grieve for families,
where
walls of protection become fortresses of isolation,
where
language is a weapon of destruction and hate.
Help
us to understand,
those
families whose identities are different from ours;
the
ways of loving, parenting, partnering
and
working together for peace.
Help
us to dare,
to
stand strongly against hate and divisiveness;
to
encounter our differences with love and respect.
This
we believe:
that
love is stronger than hate;
that
hope is stronger than despair,
and
that good is stronger than evil.
In
the name of the One who is Loving and Living, Amen.
~
written by Rev Margaret Whyte, and posted on the Church of Scotland’s Starters for Sunday website. http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/
