Celebrate with The Children’s Society this Mothering Sunday · my problems and my family and my...

Celebrate with The Children’s Society this Mothering Sunday

Supporting families affected by substance misuse

Contents

Introduction 4

How to use this resource 4

What is Mothering Sunday? 4

How The Children’s Society supports parents of children affected by substance misuse 5

Supporting The Children's Society through your service 7

All-age talk and activity ideas 8

All-age talk: John 19.25b-27 8

Creative responses 9

Other Bible passages for use on Mothering Sunday and suggested talk on Colossians 3.12-17 10

Children’s group session: Quality clothing 13

Youth group session: Quality relationships 15

Prayer resources 16

Mothering Sunday hymns 21

Templates 22

Template 1: Takeaway card jigsaw 22

Template 2: T-shirt shaped cards 24

Takeaway: Colour-in card 26

2 3

Introduction

How to use this resource

The resources in this pack can be used as a complete package or as standalone elements. Please feel free to pick and choose what is useful in your context.

This year, our focus is on the support The Children’s Society gives to parents whose children are involved in substance misuse. You can read more about this on page 5. As Mothering Sunday is often an all-age service, we have included talks and activities based on the lectionary readings that are suitable for all. There are also separate group sessions for children and young people, prayers and a hymn list – plus a printable colouring card to give to those attending your service.

There is a short video featuring interviews with parents from the BRICK group available at childrenssociety.org.uk/motheringsunday

The materials have been written by the Revd Mina Munns, Priest-in-charge and Pioneer Minister of the parishes of Cresswell and Lynemouth, Newcastle diocese, and the Revd Jeremy Fletcher, vicar of Hampstead Parish Church, London. Mina wrote the all-age talk on John, the creative responses, the children’s and youth group session and she also drew the colouring card. Jeremy contributed the talk on Colossians, the prayer resource and the hymn list.

We hope you enjoy using these materials. Please send any feedback to [email protected]

What is Mothering Sunday?

Mothering Sunday is celebrated in churches on the fourth Sunday in Lent. Traditionally it is a day when we thank God for the love of our mothers, and we thank them in person for their care for us.

In the UK, the service dates back hundreds of years to the time when people were encouraged once a year, on Laetare Sunday, to return to their home or ‘mother’ church or cathedral. In Latin, the first words of the prayer for this Sunday were ‘Laetare, O Jerusalem’ (‘Rejoice, O Jerusalem’) taken from Isaiah 66.10, and the prayer spoke of the love for Jerusalem – the original ‘mother church’.

This means that there is a small but distinct difference between Mothering Sunday, and ‘Mother’s Day’, the more commercial celebration. Mother’s Day was instigated in 1914 in the USA as a holiday on the second Sunday in May, as a result of a campaign by Anna Jarvis to recognise the important role of mothers in society following the death of her own mother. Initially the wearing of a white carnation and a proclamation from the House of Representatives honoured mothers. The commercialisation of the day rapidly grew, though Anna Jarvis is known to have taken a stand against this.

Mothering Sunday as we know it today in the UK, and across the Anglican Communion, is an evolution of the traditional pre-reformation Laetare Sunday observance. It retains the post-reformation practice of returning home from domestic service to visit church and family – picking flowers on the way to give to mothers and decorate the church. Constance Smith, who was inspired by Anna Jarvis, campaigned for a revival of Mothering Sunday observance in Lent, writing a booklet ‘The Revival of Mothering Sunday’ in 1920. This was so influential and widely read that by 1938 it was said that every parish in the UK celebrated Mothering Sunday.

Today, many churches provide small posies of flowers for children in the church to give to their mothers and other carers to thank them. Increasingly, churches are also aware of those for whom Mothering Sunday is a painful time and are including prayers and affirmations of care for children in all its forms, addressing issues of infertility, baby loss, childlessness, child bereavement and parental bereavement, particularly of a mother.

In 2018/19, The Children’s Society directly played a caring role in the lives of over 9,000 children and young people, and helped bring positive change to the lives of over 600,000 more. Through partnership with the Church we believe that much can be done to bring ‘life in all its fullness’ to this country’s children and young people.

How The Children’s Society supports parents of children affected by substance misuse

The Children’s Society runs Family Support Groups for families and friends who are affected by somebody close to them (usually a child) who uses alcohol or drugs.

The groups are led by a professional facilitator and provide information and education on what addiction is and how it affects somebody physically, mentally and emotionally. The aim of the group is to empower the families living in these circumstances by giving them the tools to support a family member or to set rules that allow both user and family to have clearer objectives and an overview of a healthy new relationship.

These groups consist of a seven-week programme covering modules that include:

■ Boundaries and consequences

■ Positive behaviour

■ Drug awareness education

■ Appropriate support of users

■ Addiction information

■ Coping and distraction techniques

Parents using our service in Essex then have the opportunity to go on to the BRICK (Building Resilience in Community Knowledge) Group. This is a self-sustaining group for parents and carers run purely by volunteers from The Children’s Society. It provides a safe and confidential space for parents and carers to share concerns and discuss issues affecting them, and to find mutual support from others in the same unique position. Here are some quotes from parents who have attended the BRICK Group:

‘ Being able to come to BRICK has been so helpful for both of us in our struggles with our son.’

‘ A child's drug use is so hard to deal with, especially as drugs is such a taboo subject and it isn't something we would discuss with anybody, even most of our friends don't know about our issues. Coming to [BRICK group] and meeting other parents with similar struggles has been fantastic. Although the children's problems and issues might be all different we, as parents, still go through all the same emotions and feelings and everyday struggles.’

4 5

' To know we are not alone in this situation and to get information, help and support without being judged and knowing someone is there for you is amazing! The people who run the group are all so lovely, caring and welcoming, always available for support and making us feel comfortable in something that could be a very uncomfortable situation.’

‘ I really don't know where we would be today without BRICK and its wonderful members. I have made some really good friends I can call on any time I need to. Thank you.’

‘ As parents we all dream of our children achieving great things and being proud parents of our well brought-up and successful children. None of us had addiction in our dreams. However, even the best raised, most loved, wonderful children can turn to drugs and some can become addicted to drugs. So as good parents we find it really difficult to discuss our children's issues and the horrible effect it has on a family when we are surrounded by people who do not understand and have very stereotyped views of drugs and addiction in their minds.’

‘ BRICK is a group that brings together parents who are trying to understand addiction and continue to love and support their children through knowledge in a safe and non-judgemental environment. We share our nightmares and know we are understood unlike many other friends or family who cannot understand how this can be happening.’

‘ My family have experienced many of the horrible consequences addiction can have on the entire family, including crime and mental health issues. I always know that when life seems like it isn't worth it anymore, the members and volunteers of BRICK will support me and give me the encouragement and strength to continue looking for answers and solutions.’

‘ When others made me feel that my problems and my family and my beloved son who is an addict were somehow "different" than everyone else, BRICK reminds me that I am "normal" and understand and there is no shame in living with addiction and loving an addict.’

‘ When I first learned that my then 15 year old daughter was taking illicit drugs and had been doing so for the preceding year, I felt as if my whole world had fallen apart. She had taken up smoking, I knew, but I never expected drugs to feature in my family’s life in any way, shape or form. To say I was deeply shocked and devastated is an understatement. I felt I’d failed as a parent.’

‘ As I knew nothing at all about drugs culture, I immediately sought answers, information and help from anywhere I could find it. After a number of dead ends, when I was becoming increasingly distraught and feeling utterly powerless to help my daughter, I stumbled across Essex Young People’s Drug and Alcohol Service (EYPDAS) and, expecting yet another knock back, I called the number and spoke to a lady who, within a few days, told me of a new group that was being formed for parents of drug-taking youngsters. Within the week, I was visited by two members of EYPDAS and, a few weeks later, I attended the first meeting of BRICK Group, where I learned of others’ journeys of drug addiction with their children.’

‘I must confess, I thought I would have nothing in common with anybody and was dubious as to how discussing our problems could help. Anyway, as I attended each fortnight, the support from the group was second-to-none and the information shared by the group leader was both in-depth and delivered in an entertaining way – so all was not “doom and gloom” even though we were all dealing with lots of problems.’

‘ Through my own journey of recovery with my daughter, we encountered many problems and hiccoughs and I always felt supported by all members of the group – never judged, which was a huge relief as I felt quite a pathetic parent at times. Simply put, I don’t think we would be where we are now without the support of… the BRICK Group. My daughter had two years of counselling with a dedicated drugs counsellor and is now completely drug-free, but realises she has an addiction problem and recognises the need to be vigilant and not to put herself in situations where drug-taking could become an issue. So, thank you to all at The Children’s Society – you saved our family, and my health and sanity.’

Supporting The Children's Society through your service

There are many ways you can get involved in supporting our vital work with vulnerable children and young people and their families. Why not join many other churches who support our work?

1. Hold a collection – you may wish to take a collection for our work during the service. It’s really easy to pay in your donations. Simply choose one of these options:

■ By Cheque – please make all cheques payable to ‘The Children’s Society’ and send to:

The Children’s Society, Whitecross Studios, 50 Banner Street, London EC1Y 8ST.

It’s helpful if you can send a covering note, explaining that this is a Mothering Sunday collection.

■ By Giro slip – please use the Fundraising Giro slip (available online at childrenssociety.org.uk/shop) to pay in cash donations at any bank or Post Office. Please note that paying at any bank other than Barclays may cost you a small fee.

■ BACS payments – to ensure that we can accurately tie your BACS payment to your records, please ensure that you include your full name and Supporter number (if you have one). For more information on how to pay online go to childrenssociety.org.uk/what-you-can-do/fundraising-and-events/paying-in-your-donations

2. Pray for our work – we send out a monthly prayer email, enabling you and your congregation to pray for our work. Sign up at childrenssociety.org.uk/prayers

3. Volunteer – find out about our many volunteering opportunities at childrenssociety.org.uk/what-you-can-do/volunteer

4. Campaign – The Children’s Society actively campaigns for changes to improve the lives of vulnerable children and young people and their families. Sign up for our campaigns updates at childrenssociety.org.uk/what-you-can-do/campaign-change

If you have any questions, please call our friendly Supporter Care team on 0300 303 7000. (Lines are open Monday – Friday from 9am – 5pm).

6 7

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.' And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

John 19.25b-27 (NRSV)

All-age talk and activity ideas

All-age talk: John 19.25b-27

You will need: Lego or other connecting building bricks in a wide range of colours, lengths and shapes

Put your collection of bricks at the front and ask for some volunteers to come and build a ‘mother’ shape out of bricks while you do your talk.

Bricks like this are a well-loved toy for all ages. I imagine that lots of us have spent hours playing and building with them, and they’re not just for children. I know many adults who have their own collection of bricks stashed somewhere in their house. They’ve been designed to fit together perfectly so that you can build whatever structure is needed by your imagination. They come in all sorts of colours and shapes and there really is no limit to their potential – as long as they are used together. A single brick on its own really has very little hope achieving anything. These bricks need each other to give a structure strength and each one helps to support the other as the model takes shape.

Our reading today might seem a strange one to link to building bricks, but actually there is a perfect fit. Mary is facing the worst moment

that a mother could ever imagine. She is watching her son die and there is nothing that she can do to help him. She is about to be left alone with her pain and sorrow. Death is not what any mother imagines in their dreams for their children and Jesus, from the cross, knows that she will need support as she struggles through her heartbreak. So Jesus reaches out and creates a new community for his mother. He connects Mary to his most loved disciple and, from that moment, they join together to become a new family to give each other strength and support.

Those parents who attend the BRICK group, a self-sustaining group for parents of children affected by substance misuse supported by volunteers from The Children’s Society, come because they, like Mary, are struggling and facing their own grief. They might not be facing the death of a child, but they are facing the real pain of a child’s addiction, and the support they receive from the BRICK community that forms around them is life-giving. As one mother comments:

‘ BRICK is a group that brings together parents who are trying to understand addiction and continue to love and support their children through knowledge in a safe and non- judgmental environment. We share our nightmares and know we are understood, unlike many other friends or family who cannot understand how this can be happening. My family have experienced many of the horrible consequences addiction can have on the entire family, including crime and mental health issues. I always know when life seems like it isn't worth it anymore, the members and volunteers of BRICK will support me and give me the encouragement and strength to continue looking for answers and solutions.'

Look at the ‘mother’ models people have made during the talk so far.

Each of these models shows a mother made of many different bricks, fitted together, helping each other to build a strong shape. Mothering is not a role that can be done alone. A single brick can’t make a strong shape. Just as Jesus creates a community around his grieving mother, we, as a church, have the chance to continue to give strength and support to struggling parents, whether it be through groups such as BRICK, or through reaching out in love in other ways. What part might each of us play in giving support? Where might our own brick fit in the structure? Who can we connect with who needs help?

Creative responses

The following activities will give people of all ages an opportunity to respond to the themes of the all-age talk in a creative way. You might want to use one or both of them immediately after the all-age talk, or at another point in the service.

Creative response 1

You will need: Lego bricks, music

Spend a moment considering how you can support struggling parents you know. Who are they? What do they need? What can you offer? How can you show them friendship or welcome?

Before the activity begins, join a few bricks together to make the beginnings of a model that others can then add their bricks to. Play some suitably reflective music and invite people to come forward and choose a brick to add to the model. As they place it, encourage them to pray silently for a struggling parent or for the chance to support someone.

Creative response 2

You will need: Newspapers, sellotape, scissors, mugs, rulers

Ask the congregation to form small, intergenerational, groups of four to six people. Give each group some newspaper, sellotape, scissors and a good-sized mug and ask them to work together to create a structure to hold the mug at least 20cm off the ground. This task will require a lot of working together, but everyone will have different skills within the group to help get the task done. When time is up, test out the constructions. Link the work the group has done to support the mug with the community support we can offer, as a church, to parents and families. Thank God for the different skills we have to contribute.

8 9

Other Bible passages for use on Mothering Sunday and suggested talk on Colossians 3.12-17

The readings for Mothering Sunday encompass stories of the love of mothers, the joys and anguish of motherhood, and the ways in which the love of God is interpreted through the lens of the love of mothers for their children. In celebrating motherhood, we do well to avoid making it saccharine. Even at its best the love of mothers can be tested to the limit, and not all mothering is received with thanksgiving.

The story of Moses in Exodus 2.1-10 contains themes of oppression, sacrifice, and a mother’s love expressed in letting her child go. That is the experience of countless families today, and the passage offers opportunities to pray for unaccompanied children and separated families. Moses is raised in an environment of complex relationships, and many children grow in ‘blended’ environments too.

The story of Hannah and Samuel in 1 Samuel 1.20-end enables reflections on the experience of childlessness, of the profound love of a mother for a longed-for son, and of the deep love of a mother again seen in entrusting her child to others.

Psalm 127.1-4 is a reminder to trust, knowing that the surest foundations are those built on the love of God. However, rejoicing in God’s gift of new life must never be to the detriment of those for whom that gift is absent.

Colossians 3.12-17

See the suggested talk on page 11.

In 2 Corinthians 1.3-7 it is not only mothers who console, but it is motherly to offer protection, healing and the binding up of wounds. The church is motherly when it is a place of consolation, where the sufferings of others are understood to belong to everybody.

Luke 2.33-35 describes profoundly the agony of mothers who see their children suffer. At the heart of the Gospel is the knowledge that Mary, rejoicing in the knowledge that she has borne the Son of God, sees the love of God for all expressed in her son’s suffering and death.

On the cross, looking at Mary and John in John 19.25-27, Jesus encourages the deep love of mothers and children to be expressed in other relationships. How might the church express the motherly love of God, and the knowledge of all being the children of God?

Talk idea: Colossians 3.12-17

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3.12-17 (NRSV)

There is lots of high-flown theology and philosophy in Paul’s letters. And there are some very simple and practical pictures which help the listener and reader understand the depths of his thought. Take the remarkable image in this reading about clothes. Clothes are everyday and remarkable, they are sensible and outrageous, they are normal and extraordinary.

Billy Connolly famously said that there is no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong sort of clothes. In a household it’s not just mothers who sort the washing, ironing and putting away, but clothes keep us and project us, and it feels like a motherly thing to care about what those we love are wearing.

Paul uses the image of clothing to describe the depths of what it is to love in a household and a community, and what it is to put that love into practical action. Tom Wright’s translation says that these are the clothes to wear: ‘be tender-hearted, kind, humble, meek and ready to put up with anything’.

To make the effort to put on the piece of clothing called ‘patience’, to ‘put up with anything’ is immensely tough if one of your family misuses alcohol, substances or drugs, like the families in the BRICK project supported by The Children’s Society. ‘Patience’ and ‘putting up with anything’ hardly describes the deep wells of compassion and sacrifice needed to cope, and to find a way through when a relationship and a household is torn apart with worry and fear and anger.

Paul is keen to tell us that the love of God will protect us, sustain us and warm us, especially in situations where people are under the greatest strain. Our own clothing may be stretched and frayed. The BRICK project is a piece of clothing, a practical enfolding in love and care.

Paul’s prayer is that it will be the love of God which people see when they look at the church. A motherly choice of clothing includes enabling people to love, to forgive, to be patient, to bear with one another. Worn well, such clothing becomes second nature, and like your favourite shoes you hardly know you have them on. Paul invites his hearers to think of what they choose to wear and why. As a body they will express the love of God when they consciously practise it, and when it dwells in them.

10 11

Paul says to the Colossians that the voice of God, the word of God, must live in them, just as the important lessons from our past continue to live in us and enrich us. God promises to prompt us and teach us, just as our parental advice continues to help us. By reading the Bible, praying, singing God’s praise and discussing God’s word, God’s words live in us and enrich us.

Today is a day to hear a voice telling us to choose the right clothes. All too often we think of God as remote and mighty. Here God is motherly and close. Let God clothe you in love, and speak to you as you listen to each other. Too many people have a bad experience of love. The BRICK project is an example of the deepest support made evident in the toughest of circumstances. In learning from that we can find other ways where putting on love can change things around. To receive such love is to give it. It will be as practical as choosing the right coat to wear, and as deep as the sacrificial love of Christ, worked out in every interaction and in every place.

Children’s group session: Quality clothing

These activities are based on Colossians 3.12-17 and will help children to explore the qualities that help to build up and encourage people within families and communities. This is especially relevant on Mothering Sunday as we think about our own family dynamics and the ways in which the love and behaviour of others, especially care givers, can influence and help us.

Game: Jigsaw relay

You will need: The takeaway card printed on two or three different colours of paper, each cut into six pieces (like a jigsaw – see template on page 23), a ball pool filled with balls.

Divide the children into two or three mixed-age teams (depending on how many children you have/jigsaws you have made). Give each team a jigsaw colour. Mix up the jigsaw pieces in the ball pool with the balls.

Run a relay race where each child runs from the team base to the ball pool to find one of their colour jigsaw pieces. Run back to base and start to put together the jigsaw picture. The team who constructs the jigsaw first is the winner.

Talk about: The verse on the takeaway card: ‘Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience…Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.’ Colossians 3.12-17

Discussion: Clothing questions

You will need: An old t-shirt, coloured flip chart pens or chunky markers, large blank stickers. Before the session, write the words in the brackets below in bold type in a single colour on the back of the t-shirt. On large blank stickers, write the definitions below, but not the words in the brackets.

Wanting to help others (Compassion) Friendly and generous (Kindness)Thinking about others more than self (Humility)Teachable, not wanting to argue (Meekness)Agreement (Harmony)(Patience) (Love)

Discuss the meanings of the words in the Colossians verse and match up the words and definitions by putting the stickers next to the word on the t-shirt. Get children to suggest their own definitions for ‘patience’ and ‘love.’

Then use the following questions:

■ Which of these words is about you?

■ Which of these words do you find hard to show?

■ What might ‘clothe yourself’ in these words mean?

■ Who in your family or community shows one or more of these qualities?

■ How do these qualities help your family and community?

12 13

Youth group session: Quality relationships

Colossians 3. 12-17 is a passage that lends itself in so many ways to the exploration of our behaviour and its impact on the community or family as a whole. On Mothering Sunday, as we think about ways in which parents support children, it is useful to remember that the behaviour of children can also deeply affect parents. The stories of those who attend The Children’s Society’s BRICK groups are a valuable resource in helping to open up this conversation.

Read Colossians 3.12-17

Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience…Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Use the following questions to open up discussion:

■ Why does Paul advise Christians to ‘wear’ these qualities? How do they help communities such as families?

■ What happens to families when these qualities are missing?

■ Which qualities do you find easiest and hardest to show?

Read some of the stories from the parents who attend BRICK groups (see page 5)

■ How have some of the parents at the BRICK groups been affected by the behaviour of their children?

■ Where do you see compassion, humility, meekness, patience and love in these stories?

■ Which of these qualities would you like to ‘wear’ more in your own family life?

Game: Blanket flip

For each team you will need: A blanket

Split the young people into teams of three to five people. Give each team a blanket and lay it out on the ground. Everyone must stand on their team blanket. The object of the game is to work as a team to turn the blanket over and end up standing on the side that is currently face down. This must be done without stepping off the blanket at any time. Use this game to talk about needing to work together with different ideas and different personalities to achieve a goal.

Activity: Team-lifting challenge

For each team you will need: a strong elastic band, a piece of string for each person, 6 paper cups labelled ‘compassion’, ‘kindness,’ ‘humility,’ ‘meekness,’ ‘patience,’ ‘love’.

Tie one end of each string to the elastic band and spread them out around the band. Line up each team’s cups at one end of the room.

Give the elastic band/string to each team and challenge them to move their cups from one end of the room to the other without touching them with any part of their bodies. They will soon work out what to do! Each member of the team will be equally as important in their contribution to the challenge and the team will really have to work together. Link this teamwork to the qualities we each can contribute to the wellbeing of the community and the family.

Craft: Clothing card

You will need: T-shirt shaped card (see template on page 25), sequins, stickers.

Ask children to choose qualities from the verse ‘worn’ by their mum/mother figure and write/draw them on the front of the card. Decorate the card with sequins, stickers etc and inside the card ask the children to write a thank you message for the qualities their chosen person brings. Give the card to the person who has inspired it.

Prayer: Ask each child to think about the quality they would like to ‘wear’ more in their life. With a pen, let them write their name next to that word on the t-shirt.

Then pray this prayer:

Thank you, God, for our families and our community. Thank you for all of those people who help us with kindness, compassion, humility, meekness, patience and love. Show us how to wear these qualities too, so that we can be there for those who need help.

Amen.

14 15

Prayer

You will need: Lolly sticks and pens, 6 cups (from the activity above) labelled ‘compassion’, ‘kindness,’ ‘humility,’ ‘meekness,’ ‘patience,’ ‘love’.

Sit in a group and put the cups in the centre. Ask the young people to put their name on a lolly stick and put it into the cup labelled with the quality they would like to show more of in their relationship with their parents and their family.

Prayer: Thank you, God, for our families and communities. Help us to remember how our behaviour affects our relationships. Give us more of the compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience and love we need to play our part in supporting and building up others. Amen.

Prayer resources

Collect for Mothering Sunday

God of love,

passionate and strong,

tender and careful:

watch over us and hold us

all the days of our life;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Song of Anselm

1 Jesus, like a mother you gather your people to you;

you are gentle with us as a mother with her children.

2 Often you weep over our sins and our pride,

tenderly you draw us from hatred and judgement.

3 You comfort us in sorrow and bind up our wounds,

in sickness you nurse us, and with pure milk you feed us.

4 Jesus, by your dying we are born to new life;

by your anguish and labour we come forth in joy.

5 Despair turns to hope through your sweet goodness;

through your gentleness we find comfort in fear.

6 Your warmth gives life to the dead,

your touch makes sinners righteous.

7 Lord Jesus, in your mercy heal us;

in your love and tenderness remake us.

8 In your compassion bring grace and forgiveness,

for the beauty of heaven may your love prepare us.

from Anselm of Canterbury

Thanksgivings

Gentle, patient God

Today we thank God for the gift of mothers

and mothering across the world.

Isaiah wrote that God is a mother to us,

comforting and carrying us in her arms.

Gentle, patient God

thank you for your tender care.

Isaiah also wrote that God will never forget us

and that he knows each one of us

just as a mother knows her own children.

Gentle, patient God


David wrote that in God’s presence,

he was quiet and at peace,

trusting his God like a child safe in its mother’s arms.

Gentle, patient God


Jesus spoke of himself as a mother,

longing to wrap his arms around us

like a mother-hen gathering her chicks under her wings.

Gentle, patient God

thank you for your tender care. Amen.

We thank God for giving us others to share in our lives:

For parents, and the love which brought us to birth.

We praise you, O Lord and bring you thanks today.

For mothers who have cherished and nurtured us:


For fathers, who have loved and supported us:


For brothers and sisters, with whom we have shared our home:


For children and their parents:


For other relatives and friends who have been with us in our hopes and joys

and in times of sadness:


For all who first spoke to us of Jesus, and have drawn us into the family of our Father in heaven:


Help us to live as those who belong to one another,

and to you our Father, now and always:

Amen.

16 17

We praise you, our God, for all mothers who have loved and laughed and laboured as they cared for their children.

Blessed be God for ever.

We praise you, our God, for all mothers who have wept in sorrow and joy for their children.


We praise you, our God, for Jesus, born of a woman and nurtured in her love, and for Mary, a reminder of your patient, waiting love.


For the care of mothers;

Thanks be to God.

For their patience when tested;

Thanks be to God.

For their love when tired;

Thanks be to God.

For their hope when despairing;

Thanks be to God.

For their service without limit;

Thanks be to God.

For those unable to have children;

Comfort them O God.

For those who have lost children

Comfort them O God.

For those experiencing broken relationships;

Comfort them O God.

For those who mourn the loss of their mothers;

Comfort them O God.

For those who find this day difficult;

Comfort them O God.

More prayers from the Church of England

Loving God,

thank you for mums and children

and for all the joy of family life.

Be with those who are grieving because they

have no mother;

Be close to those who are struggling because

they have no children;

Be near to those who are sad because they

are far apart from those they love.

Let your love be present in every home,

and help your church to have eyes to see and

ears to hear the needs of all who come.

We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ

our Lord.

Amen.

Thank you God for the love of our mothers:

thank you God for their care and concern;

thank you God for the joys they have shared with us;

thank you God for the pains they have borne for us;

thank you God for all that they give us;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Intercessions

As children of a loving God who always listens to our cries, let us pray to our Father in heaven.

After each section this response may be used:

God of love,

hear our prayer.

Loving God, you have given us the right to be called children of God.

Help us to show your love in our homes

that they may be places of love, security and truth.

Loving God, Jesus, your Son, was born into the family of Mary and Joseph;

bless all parents and all who care for children;

strengthen those families living under stress

and may your love be known where no human love is found.

Loving God, we thank you for the family of the Church.

We pray that all may find in her their true home;

that the lonely, the marginalized, the rejected

may be welcomed and loved in the name of Jesus.

Loving God, as we see the brokenness of our world

we pray for healing among the nations;

for food where there is hunger;

for freedom where there is oppression;

for joy where there is pain;

that your love may bring peace to all your children.

18 19

God our mother, we lift before you our broken world.

We pray especially this day for all mothers around the world.

We pray for those who have lost their children through illness, famine or war.

We pray for all refugees, thinking particularly of vulnerable women and children.

Hide them under the shadow of your wings.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

God our mother, we pray for our mother church.

We give thanks for our church community that nurtures us in the faith

and provides for our spiritual needs.

Challenge our churches to be a mother to our communities,

help us to see where we can help practically to serve all your children in need.


God our mother, we pray for all those who will find Mothering Sunday difficult.

We pray for those who have lost their mothers,

those who have a difficult relationship with their own mother

and those who long to be mothers.

Help us find our rest and quietness in your loving arms.


God our mother, we give thanks for those who care for us,

for those who look after us when we are ill in body, mind or spirit.

We pray especially for [specific group or people in your community],

may they know your loving care, healing and wholeness.


God our mother, you know our grief.

We pray for all the bereaved,

and especially today we pray for all who have lost children through miscarriage or infant death and those who have lost their own mothers.

We remember especially [specific group or people in your community],

grant us with them a share in your eternal kingdom.


Blessing

May God, who gave birth to all creation, bless us:

may God, who became incarnate by an earthly mother, bless us:

may God, who broods as a mother over her children, bless us.

May almighty God bless us, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

now and for ever. Amen.

Mothering Sunday hymns

� All Things Bright and Beautiful (found in most hymn books)

� A Mother Lined a Basket (linked to the story of Moses)

� Brother, Sister Let Me Serve You (by Richard Gillard)

� Beautiful Saviour (by Stuart Townsend)

� Dear Lord and Father of Mankind (found in most hymn books)

� Father I Place Into Your Hands (by Jenny Hewer)

� Fill Your Hearts with Joy and Gladness (found in most hymn books)

� For the Beauty of the Earth (found in most hymn books)

� Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart (by Henry Smith or Don Moen)

� He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands (by Tim Hughes)

� Jesus Put This Song Into Our Hearts (by Graham Kendrick)

� Let Us Build A House Where Love Can Dwell (by Marty Haugen)

� Lord of All Hopefulness (found in most hymn books)

� Moses, I Know You’re the Man (linked to the story of Moses)

� Now Thank We All Our God (found in most hymn books; also version by Ian Hannah)

� Sing We of the Blessed Mother (found in most hymn books)

� Tell Out my Soul (found in most hymn books)

� The Lord’s my Shepherd, I'll Not Want (found in most hymn books)

20 21

Templates

Template 1: Takeaway card jigsaw

To use with the 'Jigsaw relay' game on page 13.

Photocopy the template opposite on thin card in different colours and cut out into jigsaw pieces.

22 23

Template 2: T-shirt shaped cards

To use with the 'Clothing card' craft activity on page 14.

Photocopy the template opposite onto thin card, cut around the dotted lines and fold as indicated to make a card.

24 25

Takeaway: Colour-in card

Photocopy the facing page onto thin white card and cut into cards for each person at the service to take away.

26 27

© The Children’s Society 2020. The copyright of all material appearing in this publication belongs to The Children’s Society. It may not be reproduced, duplicated or copied by any means without our prior written consent.

Images posed by models. Photos: Chris O'Donovan, Laura McCluskey, David Stock, Jon Snedden.

Charity Registration No. 221124 CHU023/0220

The Children’s Society and our supporters have been there for vulnerable children and young people for more than 130 years.

We believe that every young person should have the support they need in order to enjoy a safe, happy childhood.

That’s why we run services and campaigns to make children’s lives better and change the systems that are placing them in danger.

Together with our supporters, we’re improving the lives of children today and long into the future.

childrenssociety.org.uk

t: 0300 303 7000e: [email protected]

Celebrate with The Children’s Society this Mothering Sunday · my problems and my family and my...

Documents

Transcript of Celebrate with The Children’s Society this Mothering Sunday · my problems and my family and my...