As we embrace the beauty of spring and the renewal it brings to our lives, we are reminded of the importance of community and connection. Following an exciting Membership Sunday at the end of April we are moving into a month of celebration. It’s the season of school plays and playoffs, prom and graduations, weddings and family gatherings. And in church we will celebrate Pentecost (the birthday of the Church) as well. The joyfulness of all these celebrations fills us to the brim – and at times fills our schedules with chaos. Perhaps it makes sense then that Mother’s Day comes in May, because this is the month when those who care for children are stretched to the limit!

But, in fact, Mother’s Day was founded as a movement for Peace. Julia Ward Howe, 5 years after the Civil War, decided she had had enough of war – she could not stand to see another son, or father, or brother go out to battle to be hurt, or to hurt others. So she called for a holiday when all Mothers from all over the world could come together to settle the disagreements of countries and establish World Peace once and for all. That meeting never really happened, but 45 years later another woman, Anna Jarvis, was able to convince President Woodrow Wilson to designate the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. This day was not just for honoring mothers, but also to remind all of us that everyone is someone’s child. And that every life is precious.

Our hearts break for the people of Israel, still crying out for hostages, traumatized and living in fear. Our hearts break for the people of Gaza, under constant bombardment and suffering from hunger, lack of shelter and
medical care. We shake our heads at the way anti-semitism and anti-islam bias have both been on the rise in our own country and around the world. And some of us – myself included – are so despairing that to even shout into the wind of this devastating situation feels hopeless. But as followers of Jesus we have two things to lean on: the law of love that calls us to recognize the blessed human dignity of every person, and the gift of prayer. Let us pray this Mother’s Day for the people of Israel and Gaza, Ukraine and Yemen, and everywhere in this world living in the midst of war. And as Memorial Day approaches, let us remember the sacrifices of so many who have fought for freedom and justice for all people. Holy God, touch the Earth with the kind of peace that only you can bring – you who can make a way out of no-way.

*** Something you probably didn’t know about Rev. Katherine ***

During my seminary years in Chicago I was part of a novel field education program where I served as an intern at both a church and a non-profit organization. The church I served was Primera Iglesia Congregacional de Chicago (a bilingual congregation, and no, I don’t speak Spanish) and the organization I worked for was the Interfaith Youth Core. IFYC was founded by Eboo Patel and works with young people, particularly on college
campuses, to further interfaith cooperation, dialog and service. Both settings had a
profound impact on me and helped me to experience the beauty that emerges when we build relationships across lines of difference.