Here’s
a litany of intercession and thanksgiving for Mother’s Day or Mothering Sunday.
It was adapted from a prayer by Peggy Emerson.
Litany of Thanksgiving and Intercession
for Mother’s Day
Mothers
come in many different forms,
and
today we celebrate them all!
Mothering
God,
we
draw on the image of you as one who nurtures,
who
gathers, who protects.
We
pray for those women who have nurtured us as mothers
and
who are no longer with us and whom we miss dearly.
We
reflect upon those women who have influenced our own lives
in
so many ways, and we give thanks.
We
pray for the women around the world
who
are working long days and nights to raise their children right now.
We
pray for the mothers around the world.
We
pray for mothers who have fled violence and difficult situations,
including
refugees,
and
who have been separated from their children,
or
experienced the tragedy of the death of a child.
We
pray for mothers living in uncertainty and facing the unknown.
We
pray for all the women who are expecting,
but
aren’t quite mothers yet!
Thank
God for the soon-to-be-mothers.
We
pray for families where a mother’s illness has led to an early death.
We
pray for those who step in to help with the care and nurture of the children,
including
extended family,
and
we especially for children in Africa who take on the role of mother
when
they themselves are still only children.
We
pray for the women who took in others’ children
through
adoption and foster care.
We
give thanks for these mothers with hearts so big.
We
pray for those women who have lost a child to death
and
must carry on.
We
pray for strength and courage for the mothers who have faced grief and loss.
We
pray for women whose children have grown
and
whom they now seldom see.
We
pray for mothers who are at a distance from their children.
We
pray for all the women
who
have desperately wanted to have children of their own,
but
chose instead to mother everyone else.
We
thank God for the mothers in spirit.
We
pray for women leaders in Aboriginal communities
who
seek to provide a protective environment for children,
and
whose commitment is to work for a healthy place
for
children to live and grow.
We
pray for those troubled by the prospect of motherhood,
perhaps
too soon, or too few resources to care for a child.
Mothering
God,
we
offer these prayers to you this day. Hear the prayers of our own hearts.
A
silence is kept.
~
adapted from Peggy Emerson. Posted on http://pilgrimwr.unitingchurch.org.au/?p=403#more-403
