Thread: How many Churches here observed Mother's Day yesterday?

I have noticed a curious event as of late in many Reformed Churches; incorporating "Mother's Day" on the "Lord's Day". I'm interested in knowing the following:

What do you mean by 'incorporated'?

It was mentioned from the pulpit. Is that what you mean?

It was just mentioned in the pastor's brief morning announcements - not the sermon, which we appreciated. We do not like the world's days brought into the church.

All of the moms get white carnations passed out to them after the service.

We mentioned it during prayer time, expressing gratitude for our mothers, but that was the only mention in the service.

During my pastoral prayer I gave special thanks for mothers and their godly influence in our lives. Does that constitute "incorporation?" Mothers got a potted flower when they left church. I didn't vote because I don't know where the line is between "yes" and "no."

I think the poll should be extended to have options, "Mother's Day was mentioned but the sermon was not about Mothers." Or something.

My pastor said something like, "And since my mother is here, I better thank God for mothers." And that was that. So I voted no. The sermon was what it would have been regardless the date.

Originally Posted by Whitefield

During my pastoral prayer I gave special thanks for mothers and their godly influence in our lives. Does that constitute "incorporation?" Mothers got a potted flower when they left church. I didn't vote because I don't know where the line is between "yes" and "no."

I voted yes including the pastor's mention.

This will probably start a debate, but I do not believe it is proper to 'share' the Lord's Day with 'Mother's Day'.

The church I attend in Cape Town had the children singing "Jesus loves Mom, this I know". I did not approve of this. We should be reminded of honoring our parents every time we read the 10 Commandments, not by declaring that the Lord's Day is also Mother's Day.

I have only recently come to this understanding (I had never considered it before), so I understand if someone is surprised that I would suggest giving up this observance.

It could be a prayer, a sermon, a potted flower, asking the mothers to stand, etc. I'm just curious to see how many will "observe" to a greater or lesser degree, the honouring of our mothers on the Lord's Day.
The reason I ask is in the old Scottish tradition I was trained in, birthdays, Mother's Day, and Father's Day were strictly avoided on the Sabbath, as it was considered to take away from the Lord's Day. In our Church, we have a mother's day event on the Saturday so to avoid the temptation of Sabbath day additions.
Just wanted to know what other congregations do, that's all.

My children celebrated their mother on Saturday with flowers, gifts, doing extra chores for her, etc. I gave my mother some flowers. Our whole family got together with my wife's mother and gave gifts, reminisced, and had an enjoyable time together.

Our church observed it in the way that it always has: recognition of mothers from the pulpit at the beginning. I have always been uncomfortable with this, which is one reason why I didn't applaud.

Wait, let me guess....Mother's Day is actually rooted in paganism, which originated as the worship of the moon god, and medieval Christians created a more socially-acceptable cover for it by celebrating their "mothers" on a certain Sunday in the spring. Or maybe Walgreens or Hallmark is actually the originator of Mother's Day, capitalizing on our guilt of ingratitude and pinpointing our wallets as the true source of love...thus solidifying its pagan nature. And even uttering the word "mother" at church on this particular Sunday is a slap in the face of God as we cling to the gods of our culture???? Am I even close????

Originally Posted by Tim

This will probably start a debate, but I do not believe it is proper to 'share' the Lord's Day with 'Mother's Day'.

The church I attend in Cape Town had the children singing "Jesus loves Mom, this I know". I did not approve of this. We should be reminded of honoring our parents every time we read the 10 Commandments, not by declaring that the Lord's Day is also Mother's Day.

I have only recently come to this understanding (I had never considered it before), so I understand if someone is surprised that I would suggest giving up this observance.

I agree. These Mother's and Father's days are based on sentimentality and I believe they usurp the authority of God's fifth commandment.

Or...

How many pastors preached on Proverbs 31 yesterday?

Originally Posted by Knoxienne

It was just mentioned in the pastor's brief morning announcements - not the sermon, which we appreciated. We do not like the world's days brought into the church.

Same here. I had two services yesterday and only made passing mention of mothers in the announcements at the beginning. I think I briefly - very briefly - prayed for mothers in the Pastoral Prayer during the first service in my church.

Later on I did a service at a retirement village. Someone was joking with me asking if I was going to do a "Mother's Day Sermon." The little old ladies were probably not too happy when I eschewed references to mothers and focused instead on Jesus Christ.

Originally Posted by JOwen

It could be a prayer, a sermon, a potted flower, asking the mothers to stand, etc. I'm just curious to see how many will "observe" to a greater or lesser degree, the honouring of our mothers on the Lord's Day.
The reason I ask is in the old Scottish tradition I was trained in, birthdays, Mother's Day, and Father's Day were strictly avoided on the Sabbath, as it was considered to take away from the Lord's Day. In our Church, we have a mother's day event on the Saturday so to avoid the temptation of Sabbath day additions.
Just wanted to know what other congregations do, that's all.

Thanks for the clarification. Since I think it is appropriate to honor the 5th commandment on the Lord's Day, I voted "yes".

A brief mention, but we kept on with our sermon series and did not deviate from it in any way.

God has given us His commandment to honor our father and our mother. This is a 'reminder' to us. Why would we then add our own reminder of this aspect of Christian life?

We could very easily go into the Christmas and Easter debate here...but let's not.

Originally Posted by Tripel

Wait, let me guess....Mother's Day is actually rooted in paganism, which originated as the worship of the moon god, and medieval Christians created a more socially-acceptable cover for it by celebrating their "mothers" on a certain Sunday in the spring. Or maybe Walgreens or Hallmark is actually the originator of Mother's Day, capitalizing on our guilt of ingratitude and pinpointing our wallets as the true source of love...thus solidifying its pagan nature. And even uttering the word "mother" at church on this particular Sunday is a slap in the face of God as we cling to the gods of our culture???? Am I even close????

Err... no, nothing that elaborate. We would see it however as an encroachment on the Lord's glory on the Sabbath.
Isa 42:8 "I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another..."

Originally Posted by Tripel

Wait, let me guess....Mother's Day is actually rooted in paganism, which originated as the worship of the moon god, and medieval Christians created a more socially-acceptable cover for it by celebrating their "mothers" on a certain Sunday in the spring. Or maybe Walgreens or Hallmark is actually the originator of Mother's Day, capitalizing on our guilt of ingratitude and pinpointing our wallets as the true source of love...thus solidifying its pagan nature. And even uttering the word "mother" at church on this particular Sunday is a slap in the face of God as we cling to the gods of our culture???? Am I even close????

Yes, it is rooted in paganism in the sense that it takes what is already commanded in God's Word and replaces it with its own commandment.

I made no mention of it at all for the reasons that you listed as common among Scottish Presbyterianism.

There was no mention of Mother's Day from the pulpit. People at our church observe it privately (my hubby told me "Happy Mother's Day" for the first time since we're expecting our first child this fall). But I think there is typically too much emphasis on days like those. (Josh and I haven't exchanged gifts since we've been married because we're so sick of commercialization.)

Our church allows for private observation of any and all holidays, but we do not rearrange our preaching schedule to fit Valentines Day, Mothers Day, Armed Forces Day, etc. It's not the time or place for it.

The independent fundamental baptist church I grew up in gave away cherry pies to the oldest mother, youngest mother, mother with the most children, and mother with the most children present in the church service (you should have seen the ruckus when there was a tie!), then we'd hand out flowers to all the mothers, have a message about a mother in the Bible, have the children sing special music about how much they loved their mothers, etc. I'm SO GLAD to be done with "mother-worship." (I love my mom, but singing a song about my love for her during church is just wrong.)

We have the duty to engage the world with the Word of God. Honoring of parents is very Biblical.

Our church (I'm back in Saint Louis now) said a special word AFTER the sermon.But I would not have had problems with a sermon on Proverbs 31 being preached. Even a sermon on the duties of children to parents or vie versa would have fit well.

If major wildfires destroyed half of your state, or the World Trade Towers were blown up the day before, or Pearl Harbor was bombed, I would see nothing amiss in a pastor addressing these current and relevant concerns to the congregation.

In the same manner, mentioning Mother's Day is appropriate...if the Bible has something to say about it (which it does).

-----Added 5/11/2009 at 10:38:01 EST-----

Originally Posted by JOwen

Originally Posted by Tripel

Wait, let me guess....Mother's Day is actually rooted in paganism, which originated as the worship of the moon god, and medieval Christians created a more socially-acceptable cover for it by celebrating their "mothers" on a certain Sunday in the spring. Or maybe Walgreens or Hallmark is actually the originator of Mother's Day, capitalizing on our guilt of ingratitude and pinpointing our wallets as the true source of love...thus solidifying its pagan nature. And even uttering the word "mother" at church on this particular Sunday is a slap in the face of God as we cling to the gods of our culture???? Am I even close????

Err... no, nothing that elaborate. We would see it however as an encroachment on the Lord's glory on the Sabbath.
Isa 42:8 "I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another..."

Under your rationale, you should give NO announcements WHATSOEVER besides preaching during Sunday worship.

Originally Posted by Kim G

There was no mention of Mother's Day from the pulpit. People at our church observe it privately (my hubby told me "Happy Mother's Day" for the first time since we're expecting our first child this fall). But I think there is typically too much emphasis on days like those. (Josh and I haven't exchanged gifts since we've been married because we're so sick of commercialization.)

Our church allows for private observation of any and all holidays, but we do not rearrange our preaching schedule to fit Valentines Day, Mothers Day, Armed Forces Day, etc. It's not the time or place for it.

The independent fundamental baptist church I grew up in gave away cherry pies to the oldest mother, youngest mother, mother with the most children, and mother with the most children present in the church service (you should have seen the ruckus when there was a tie!), then we'd hand out flowers to all the mothers, have a message about a mother in the Bible, have the children sing special music about how much they loved their mothers, etc. I'm SO GLAD to be done with "mother-worship." (I love my mom, but singing a song about my love for her during church is just wrong.)

Outta thanks! Amen.

Tim is very sensitive to making an issue out of Mother's Day at church; one of our closest friends confided how much it can make the childless feel like second-class citizens. However, we have a congregant who has good intentions and loves to celebrate, so she brought yellow roses for the mothers' lapels. When this became awkward, "every woman is a mother" through Sunday School, etc. and received a rose. I counted up on the way home and realized (in our very small congregation) that we had more women who are not mothers (at all age levels) than are in yesterday's worship.

Mother's Day and Father's Day are special days of thanksgiving. To give special thanks to God for godly mothers and fathers is scriptural. Unless we are saying that there are to be no special days of thanksgiving, I think a prayer of thanksgiving is appropriate.

Originally Posted by Pergamum

Under your rationale, you should give NO announcements WHATSOEVER besides preaching during Sunday worship.

Our announcements are done before the call to worship, as I imagine is the pattern in many churches attended by folks here.

Originally Posted by Knoxienne

Yes, it is rooted in paganism in the sense that it takes what is already commanded in God's Word and replaces it with its own commandment.

Hogwash. It's not replacing anything. If you take from Mother's Day that there's one day a year that we are to honor our mothers, and the rest don't matter, then you have greatly misunderstood the holiday.

It's a day set aside to show special appreciation to somebody. In no way is it intended to be a "command", and in no way is it to replace or add to Scripture.

I mentioned the raising up of disciples in godly households as a sermon illustration/application, but I continued our series on John 6 by preaching on the concluding verses of that chapter (including the marks of a true disciple, ones who did not abandon the "difficult teachings" of Jesus). I mentioned the influence of Eunice and Lois upon Timothy as an encouragement to godly mothers and grandmothers, but that was about it.

Not my church. Instead, my pastor talked about how we were whores and God's grace towards us to make us His bride.

Originally Posted by Tim

God has given us His commandment to honor our father and our mother. This is a 'reminder' to us. Why would we then add our own reminder of this aspect of Christian life?

God has also commanded us to pray, but I guess it's somehow wrong to have a national day of prayer. Am I right?
I'm not trying to change the subject, but I don't see how it's so problematic to recognize those things in our culture that do not run counter to Scripture.

Originally Posted by Scottish Lass

Originally Posted by Pergamum

Under your rationale, you should give NO announcements WHATSOEVER besides preaching during Sunday worship.

Our announcements are done before the call to worship, as I imagine is the pattern in many churches attended by folks here.

So, what's wrong with announcing gratitude towards mothers at that time?

I bought my mom's dinner and gave her a card this Saturday. It was nice because my mom, Dad, and Chloë all visited me here in Dallas. But there was no observance of Mother's Day at our Church on the Lord's Day, and for that, I'm thankful.

Originally Posted by Pergamum

Originally Posted by Scottish Lass

Originally Posted by Pergamum

Under your rationale, you should give NO announcements WHATSOEVER besides preaching during Sunday worship.

Our announcements are done before the call to worship, as I imagine is the pattern in many churches attended by folks here.

So, what's wrong with announcing gratitude towards mothers at that time?

What's wrong with doing it on December 9th or July 9th? - provided those days are Sunday's!

-----Added 5/11/2009 at 10:53:04 EST-----

Originally Posted by Tripel

Originally Posted by Tim

God has given us His commandment to honor our father and our mother. This is a 'reminder' to us. Why would we then add our own reminder of this aspect of Christian life?

God has also commanded us to pray, but I guess it's somehow wrong to have a national day of prayer. Am I right?
I'm not trying to change the subject, but I don't see how it's so problematic to recognize those things in our culture that do not run counter to Scripture.

Yes - the National Day of Prayer is the same type of thing I've been talking about. It's usurpation. May be hogwash to you, Tripel, but I've done my homework on this issue.

Originally Posted by Knoxienne

Originally Posted by Pergamum

Originally Posted by Scottish Lass

Our announcements are done before the call to worship, as I imagine is the pattern in many churches attended by folks here.

So, what's wrong with announcing gratitude towards mothers at that time?

What's wrong with doing it on December 9th or July 9th? - provided those days are Sunday's!

-----Added 5/11/2009 at 10:53:04 EST-----

Originally Posted by Tripel

Originally Posted by Tim

God has given us His commandment to honor our father and our mother. This is a 'reminder' to us. Why would we then add our own reminder of this aspect of Christian life?

God has also commanded us to pray, but I guess it's somehow wrong to have a national day of prayer. Am I right?
I'm not trying to change the subject, but I don't see how it's so problematic to recognize those things in our culture that do not run counter to Scripture.

Yes - the National Day of Prayer is the same type of thing I've been talking about. It's usurpation. May be hogwash to you, but I've done my homework on this issue.

Celebrate mothers on any day you want....usually for an annual event, some sort of arbitrary date must be chosen. July 9th is fine too.

Originally Posted by Pergamum

Under your rationale, you should give NO announcements WHATSOEVER besides preaching during Sunday worship.

Agreed. Announcements do not belong in the worship service.

Originally Posted by Knoxienne

What's wrong with doing it on December 9th or July 9th? - provided those days are Sunday's!

Nothing. And what is wrong with May 10th? I have yet to see an argument against a prayer of thanksgiving for mothers on the Second Sunday of May. I think it fits in with WCF 21.5. I don't run scared before the world. Just because something is abused or misused by the world does not exclude it from proper use by Christians, if it is used to proclaim Christ and thank God.

So JOwen:

How do you handle other info on Sundays?

Most all churches have some sort of time for announcements or some form of info giving other than worship on Sundays?

Your position is consistent, but how do you practically carry it out? Advise folks by email or pamphlet about news and/or upcoming events?

Originally Posted by Pergamum

So JOwen:

How do you handle other info on Sundays?

Most all churches have some sort of time for announcements or some form of info giving other than worship on Sundays?

Your position is consistent, but how do you practically carry it out? Advise folks by email or pamphlet about news and/or upcoming events?

I would assume that announcements are made before the Call to Worship. Nonetheless, I wouldn't pretend to know what Pastor Owen does. I would also assume that the announcements don't pertain to giving honor to anyone else other than the Lord on the Lord's Day; rather, necessary information for the congregation, prayer requests, etc. It's one thing to say, "Hey, such and such day is coming up," and quite another to say, "Today is Mother's Day."

Originally Posted by Knoxienne

Yes - the National Day of Prayer is the same type of thing I've been talking about. It's usurpation. May be hogwash to you, Tripel, but I've done my homework on this issue.

Forgive me, but I don't take your homework as authoritative.
Just because something is cultural does not mean it is usurping God's law. If we share a common culture, and we collectively pray for a cultural issue, how is that usurping anything of God?