Mother's Day and Children's/Youth Ministry

While I’m late posting, for once I’m a bit ahead and thinking about this Sunday instead of reflecting back on the last one. It’s not that I don’t care about the Ascension or peace and our kids, but I think Mother’s Day deserves some thought and preparation.

This day can bring about many challenges for people, particularly children and youth. What if they don’t know their moms or are estranged from them? What if their moms have died? What if they have two dads? What if they don’t feel loved by their moms? What if their moms are physically far from them due to legalities, prison, work or other reasons?

While hopefully most of your kids and youth will have a happy relationship with their moms, we need to be sensitive to those who do not. Some churches call this Christian Family Sunday, emphasizing the whole family of faith and not just moms. This can be a more inclusive approach if you have many learners for whom a mother focus will be difficult.

If you opt to maintain a mom focus, consider one or more of the following:

1. Talk about what it means to honour someone and how this relates to the 5th Commandment – honouring your father and mother. Particularly with youth in tricky situations, we can talk about how basic respect is a given with anyone as we are all created in the image of God. Challenge youth to think of ways that they can help improve how they relate to their moms, acknowledging that the only person they can change is themselves. What kind of mom do they want to be someday? What traits of their own moms or other moms they know do they value and would want to emulate?

2. Instead of a traditional card, have learners sit and think about good memories of their moms and write them down or draw pictures on a page (i.e. holidays, special moments, family gatherings, one on one time after school, etc.). Make sure that you have enough helpers who can encourage thinking of these memories and capture them on the page for those not yet able to write. Make sure that you allow time for sharing for those who wish and have the learners offer this gift of memories to their moms.

3. Many churches hand out flowers to moms or all the women in the congregation. I prefer all women receiving one – too many women have been denied the chance to be moms and the day can already feel excluding enough without adding that reminder. Carnations can be a flower of choice because they are fairly robust. This is a great way to encourage inter-generational connections and allow younger learners to move during the service or to serve with the ushers at the doors.

4. For those without moms, ask them about their grandmothers or significant women who have been a maternal figure for them (i.e. aunts, teachers, ministers, music teachers, babysitters, etc.). We can celebrate those who take on this role and who stepped up to help us grow into who God wants us to be.

5. Be sure to take time to pray for moms, adoptive moms, grandmas, and all who nurture us and bring us closer to God. Thank God for placing them in our lives and for their selfless giving and love that models the love of Christ.

All of us have had a mom, and many of us still have the privilege of having her around, or at very least being able to connect on the phone and internet or skype. Take time to reflect on how God is not just our heavenly Father but also is referred to with maternal and nurturing qualities in the Bible. Thank God for mothers who give us a better glimpse of God’s incredible love for us.