[Magdalen] Rescuing Mother's Day from the greedy

[Marion Thompson]

I included the activism origins of Mother's Day in a sermon a couple of 
years ago, so far from the commercial overload of today. To leaven the 
more standard content of my sermons, I find it's often rewarding to do 
some digging and see what I can unearth to amuse and delight the mob, 
learning not a little myself in the process..

Marion, a pilgrim


On 5/9/2016 3:57 PM, Suzie Buchanan wrote:
> Wish I had this while sermon prepping last week!  I did a lot with Daniel
> Berrigan (and the Acts lesson of disciples in prison and the Gospel of
> Jesus' prayer that he be in us like the father in him . . . and that
> oneness being what we need post-ascension to be brave enough to take stands
> and face prison, etc)  I tend to not preach on "Mother's Day", but that
> Mother's Day for Peace would have worked in beautifully!
>
> Susan
>
> On Sun, May 8, 2016 at 11:14 PM, James Oppenheimer-Crawford <
> oppenheimerjw at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> This morning our rector, Chuck Kramer, gave a fantastic perspective on what
>> Mothers' Day truly was meant to mean.  For one thing, the Americans who
>> came up with the idea envisioned a view that affirmed all women, not merely
>> those who had children. Much of this is springboarding off his ideas.
>>
>> A major source of Mothers' Day was activism from folks like Julia Ward
>> ("mine eyes have seen") Howe and Ann Reeves Jarvis, who saw mothers' Day as
>> a tonic for the ruin that men make of the running of the world in general.
>> Both were sickened by the awesome toll the Civil War took on so many --
>> especially on mothers whose sons were forever taken from them.
>>
>> This link will show some terrific material to shed light on the history of
>> Mothers' Day.
>>
>> http://www.peace.ca/mothersdayproclamation.htm
>>
>> When I read that Julia Ward Howe envisioned a Mothers' Day For Peace (early
>> June), I thought this woman was way ahead of her time ( or we were all just
>> plain backward)
>>
>> Women tried to push the idea of a Pothers' Day for Peace, but of course
>> congress would not go along.  After all, how many Mothers were there in
>> that stinking body?
>>
>> Ann's daughter pushed the holiday as a memorial to her mother, and
>> eventually she was successful, but she was horrified at how shallow and
>> material it became.
>>
>> Reading Howe's Proclamation (see the link above) is chilling, considering
>> what might have been, what still might be.
>>
>> Perhaps if the men would give up their hubris and get out of the way....
>>
>>
>> James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
>> *“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
>> except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy
>>