Mothering Sunday
Right in the middle of Lent we have a time of respite – Mothering Sunday. Flowers are allowed in those churches who maintain a strict Lent. For those who fast, it is a time when a little relaxation is permitted. Such relaxation provides encouragement to face one of the most emotionally draining parts of the church’s calendar – Passiontide and Holy Week.
The theme of the sermon for this year’s Mothering Sunday was nurture. This encompasses not just the nurture of a mother’s love for her children, but the nurturing role we all play as members of the church and the church’s nurturing role as Mother Church. In otherwords as the church nourishes us spiritually, so should we care for and encourage each other.
In Anglican churches there is a tradition of giving Mothers’ Day posies to the mothers in the congregation. Children go up to the altar, collect their flowers (usually daffodils and evergreens) and take them to their mums. Sometimes adult members of the congregation also collect a posy if their mothers are there. At the church I attended in Cambridge, posies were given to everyone who has a mother, has had a mother, or would like a mother! Last Sunday, as there are always spare posies, I was given one as in the words of the rector ‘you’re a Mother Church person’. I suppose he meant that, as a server, I have nurturing role in facilitating worship. Whatever the reason, it is always nice to have flowers to break the gloom of Lent.
