In case you missed the memo, this Sunday is Mother’s Day. But did you also know that it is the Festival of the Christian Home? It’s a day where we celebrate not just the women in our lives who have cared for us, but we celebrate the families we are a part of.

I know not all of you had families you are proud of. Some of you have experienced abuse at the hands of a parent or other trusted adult. Some of you have experienced addicts and alcoholics. Some of you have experienced absentee parents and bully siblings. Some of you have taken those experiences and built a different family that is filled with love.

But, there is a family that you are a part of that is filled with a greater love and that family is your Church family. When we seek to love in the ways that God has loved us, we find ourselves in a community of prayer, love, and forgiveness. It’s contagious and it spreads from one place to the next. It’s important to know that the place we call home, and the people who are there, is what shapes and forms us into who we are.

So, on this Festival of the Christian Home, may we celebrate and pray for the families that we are a part of. Will you join me in this prayer?

In you, O God, every family on earth receives its name. Illumine the homes of this earth with the light of your love, granting courage to those who are hurt or lonely, endurance to those who care for sick family members, and wisdom to those in fearful times of change. We thank you for gives of love we have received from mother, father, spouse, child, or companion. As we have been loved by you and by others, so may we love. Grant us your peace, through Jesus the Christ. Amen.
(United Methodist Book of Worship #437, Ruth Duck, U.S.A., 20th Cent., alt.)

Blessings friends,
Pastor Nicole