Leaders weigh in on whether churches should celebrate Mother’s Day in worship services.
“I certainly think we should want to support motherhood; parenthood is the cornerstone of the family. We should be celebrating cultural rhythms liturgically. I think we can choose secular holidays to blur the line between secular and sacred, recognizing there’s no place God isn’t. But we really need to be holistic in the way that we celebrate, and realize that we can hold in tension the wonder of what motherhood is as well as the challenges and some of the grief. That’s the best of worship—when we have that kind of paradox.”
Sally Morgenthaler, author, Worship Evangelism
“In our culture, these really are significant days when we honor dads and moms. Mother’s Day is almost like the elephant in the room—and important to acknowledge, to break down this secular-sacred divide that is sometimes so much a part of religious life in America. Because that is on people’s minds, and the rest of the day will certainly be spent honoring mothers and thanking God for mothers—whether still alive or no longer with us—that’s certainly something to lift up in the worship service.”
Kurt Fredrickson, associate dean, Fuller Theological Seminary
“Churches should seize upon any opportunity to honor the profession of motherhood (or fatherhood for that matter). There’s no harm in churches taking a moment to show respect to the parents and grandparents who have participated in the healthy, God-ordained activity of rearing children.”
Brett McCracken, author, Hipster Christianity
“On Sunday morning you have 500 cars driving to church. You have 100 people who are angry when they think of mothers, and a lot of people all mixed up together. It’s not just a connecting point with culture, but it’s giving voice to these rather deep experiences that people have. That’s one of the main functions of worship in general, and that ought to be happening every week. It just happens that on Mother’s Day it’s dominant in people’s minds.”
John D. Witvliet, director, Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
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