Calls To Worship
Mother’s Day
Adapted from Psalm 139:1-6,13-18
You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.
Come children
God is calling us
Gathering us
Covering us with hope-filled wings
Come children
Rest against our Beloved’s breast
Nurtured and nourished
On the milk of love and kindness
Call to Worship for Mother’s Day © 2022 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia, www.revlisad.com
You knit us together in our mother’s womb
and breathe us into being.
Thank you for the gift of life
and for bringing us into this world through our mothers.
We recognize the risk they took
to carry us, nourish us, and protect us within their bodies.
Thank you for the women in our life,
for our mothers and for those who have been like mothers to us.
We are grateful for their tenderness when we were helpless or hurt,
We are grateful for their encouragement and wisdom when we were unsure,
We are grateful for their correction and perseverance so we would stay true,
We are grateful for the way they guided us into Your saving embrace.
Too often we took their love and sacrifice for granted. Forgive us.
Help us to live in such a way
that our words and actions bring honor to them and to You.
Merciful One, gather us all to the safety of your breast.
For many, this day is full of joy and celebration,
but for others, it is an especially painful day.
Pour out your healing, consolation, and peace
on those who are grieving the loss of their mother or the loss of their child,
on families separated by distance or disagreement,
on families plagued by disappointment, abandonment, addiction, or abuse.
Compassionate One, shelter us all beneath Your outstretched arms.
Bring your healing, consolation, and peace
to women whose desire to be a mother has not been fulfilled,
to mothers and guardians who are exhausted
as they labor to balance work and raising children,
to mothers and guardians who are overwhelmed as they struggle
to bring up children in the midst of poverty, disease, or war.
The need is deep. Come quickly. Our hope is in You.
At this point in the prayer, all the girls and women in the room are invited to stand as they are able. Those who are seated are asked to place a hand of blessing upon those who are standing.
Gracious God, thank You for every woman and girl here today
and for every one we have brought with us in our hearts.
Reveal Your purpose and plan for their life.
Bless them and protect them.
Deepen their love and trust of You.
Strengthen them, empower them, and anoint them with Your Holy Spirit
that their faith, influence, and achievement would bring You honor and glory.
Receive our thanks and praise again for these women and women in the making
for they are precious to us and to You.
In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia, 2011
Lord, on this day set aside to honor and remember mothers, we give you thanks for our mothers. We are grateful that you chose to give us life through them, and that they received the gift of life from your hands, and gave it to us. Thank you for the sacrifices they made in carrying us and giving us birth. We thank you for the women who raised us; who held us and fed us, who cared for us and kissed away our pain. We pray that our lives may reflect the love they showed us, and that they would be pleased to be called our moms.
We pray for older moms whose children are grown.
Grant them joy and satisfaction for a job well done.
We pray for new moms experiencing changes they could not predict.
Grant them rest and peace as they trust you for the future.
We pray for pregnant women who will soon be moms.
Grant them patience and good counsel in the coming months.
We pray for moms who face the demands of single parenthood.
Grant them strength and wisdom.
We pray for moms who are raising their children in poverty.
Grant them relief and justice.
We pray for step-mothers.
Grant them patience and understanding and love.
We pray for moms who are separated from their children.
Grant them faith and hope.
We pray for moms in marriages that are in crisis.
Grant them support and insight.
We pray for moms who have lost children.
Grant them comfort in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We pray for moms who gave up their children for adoption.
Grant them peace and confidence as they trust in your providence.
We pray for adoptive mothers.
Grant them joy and gratitude for the gift you have provided.
We pray for women who desperately want, or wanted, to be moms.
Grant them grace to accept your timing and will.
We pray for all women who have assumed the mother’s role in a child’s life.
Grant them joy and the appreciation of others.
We pray for those who are grieving the loss of their mother in the past year.
Grant them comfort and hope in Christ’s resurrection.
Lord, we thank you for the gift of motherhood in our lives. And we thank you for Mary the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, who had the courage in faith to say “yes” to your calling. Bless the mothers among us on this special day; through Christ Jesus, Who has taught us to pray…
Leader:
On this day of celebrating mothers,
We remember and lift up our mothers to the Lord.
Mothers of young children, first-time mothers,
Working mothers, and single mothers
People of God: We see you and honor you today.
Leader:
Grieving mothers who have lost a child too soon,
And those who desire to be mothers
People of God: We see you and honor you today.
Leader:
All those who are missing their mothers,
And mothers who are missing their children
People of God: We see you and honor you today.
Leader:
Mothers who did not give birth to us biologically,
But have raised us and brought life to us in countless other ways
People of God: We see you and honor you today.
Leader:
In times of full joy and abundance,
In times of empty nests and empty cradles,
In all these God tends his flock like a shepherd
And carries the lambs close to his heart.
People of God: As a mother comforts her child, so will God comfort us.
Kathryn Roelofs
Call to Worship for Mother’s Day
Come children
God is calling us
Gathering us
Covering us with hope-filled wings
Come children
Rest against our Beloved’s breast
Nurtured and nourished
On the milk of love and kindness
Call to Worship for Mother’s Day © 2022 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia, www.revlisad.com
Adapted from the Magnificat, Luke 1:46b-55 (NRSV)
My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.