To all the mothers, mothers-at-heart, and those who mother in their own way, thank you for all you are and everything you do. Today, we offer this blessing:
Heavenly Mother, pour out your love:
To the Mothers and women who lead our Church towards justice and solidarity.
To the Mothers who are struggling and to those filled with incandescent joy.
To the Mothers who are remembering children who have died and pregnancies that miscarried.
To the Mothers who lost their children to war, gun violence, mass incarceration, and police brutality.
To the Mothers who decided other parents were the best choice for their children, and to the Mothers who adopted those kids and loved them fiercely.
To those experiencing frustration, grief, or desperation in infertility.
To those who didn’t have children - either by choice or circumstance - yet contributed goodness and life to our shared world.
To those who mothered colleagues, mentees, neighborhood children, and anyone who needed it.
To those moving forward from mothers who did not or could not show them love they needed or who hurt those they should have cared for.
And to the Mothers who are no longer with us and those who remember them.
Bless all those we call 'Mother' who live with unyielding love and care.
May we carry this love within ourselves and share it with all who we encounter. AMEN.
(Adapted blessing from Hannah Kardon, Pastor at Elston Avenue United Methodist Church)
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