Letter from the Pastor – May 2025

Dear Church,

Well, we just celebrated another Easter Sunday. Easter Sunday is, of course, regarded as the most well attended Sunday services of the year. And, because Easter was so late in the calendar this year, we have another big Sunday just around the corner. They say Mother’s Day is one of the most well attended Sundays of the year, probably number two after Easter. The rationale here is that mothers are the drivers of church attendance. Mom wants to be in church, so everyone else will come with her. Growing up, my father was a minister, so it fell to my mother to get us kids to church on a Sunday morning. If Mother’s Day is the Sunday when moms drag their family to church, then by that standard, growing up every Sunday was Mother’s Day for my family because we were always in church with mom.

However, this cannot be everyone’s story. Not everyone’s mother was able to take them church. Some did not choose to, some were not physically able, some were not around anymore. Some were brought to church by people who were not their birth mother, but who served a similar role of care giver in their life. Speaking as a single person with no children, I observe that motherhood is difficult, and it is complicated. But isn’t that the case with families and relationships? Our experiences are not the same. Our relationships are not the same. So, while it is appropriate to honor and celebrate mothers, we must also remember that when Mother’s Day rolls around each year we are all commemorating something different (if we observe the day at all). A different person, a different relationship, or even the lack of those things.

So, if you find yourself in church this Mother’s Day, wherever that is, I hope you can be with your mother, but whether that is possible or not, whether that is desirable to you or not, it is okay. If you are a mother, I hope you can spend time with your children. Mother’s Day may be one of the most popular Sunday’s of the year, but it doesn’t have to be commemorated just once a year. Every Sunday we worship we are in the presence of a God that created us and cares for us, that nurtured us and watched us grow and discover the world, that protects us with their presence and makes sure our needs are met. The maternal presence cannot be overlooked during worship, or in our relationship with God, whether you sit with your mom every Sunday or not. So, in that sense, isn’t every Sunday Mother’s Day?

Happy Second-Most-Popular-Sunday,

Pastor Zach