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Look after, care for, tend,
nurse, and protect. These words are synonyms for the
verb mother. In May,
we celebrate mothers. I am fortunate to still have my
mother, Inez Torres. She is an elegant little
woman who
speaks impeccable Spanish and loves to grow flowers. I
may get to surprise her with a visit this Mother’s Day.
I know, however, that mother
is about more than biology. I know that if we gather
women into a circle to share this commemoration of the
mother energy that is given by
God to our church, our society, and the world, we
celebrate more than our biological mothers. Such
recognition of the mother energy is recognition of all
positive relationships
among and between women. Enjoy!
Place a shallow bowl
or deep plate filled with water in a flat, waterproof
pan on a tabletop. Scatter small, smooth stones around
the pan. (Note: Try to have enough water in the dish and
enough women participating to make the water to
overflow.)
Leader 1:
Mother God, may we
remember to regularly take time to quietly be with
you and allow your spirit to look after, care for, tend,
nurse, and protect us.
All: May our confidence in
your constant presence and faithful care grow.
Leader 2:
Everyone who has experienced God’s loving presence in
your life as a mother’s nurturing and healing presence,
please take a stone and set it in the dish [bowl].
All: As this stone slides
beneath the water’s surface, may we always find our
refuge in you, O God.
L1:
Everyone who has experienced another woman holding your
spirit with gentleness during times of sorrow, loss, or
regret, please take a stone and set it in the dish
[bowl].
All: As this stone slides
beneath the water’s surface, may we aspire to provide
God’s mother-love to all who suffer.
L2:
Everyone who has experienced another woman supporting,
encouraging, or cheering for your success and growth,
please take a stone for each of these women and set
these stones in the dish [bowl].
All: As these many stones
slide beneath the water’s surface, may we see the faces
of the women who have been as mothers to us — our birth
mothers, aunts, our godmothers, adoptive mothers,
sisters, cousins, daughters, neighbors, and friends.
Hold silence, allowing the
memory of many women to be recorded with the stones.
L1:
Everyone who has experienced being gently rocked in the
folds of God’s grace as a woman sat with you, prayed
with you, waited with you, or laughed with you, please
take a stone and set it in the dish [bowl].
All: As these stones raise
the level of the water, may our recognition of the women in
our lives raise our faith and certainty in God’s love
for us.
L2:
And as the water begins to flow from this dish
[bowl], may we remember that the mother energy of love
is meant to be free and flowing through us as we grow in
the habit of seeing the life of Christ in other women
and in ourselves.
All: And when we see this
God, what is she doing?
L1: She is reminding us of our baptisms.
All: And when we see this
God, what is she saying?
L2: She is calling us to wisdom and compassion.
All: And when we see this
God what does she look like?
L1 & L2: She looks like one who has come to earth, made
flesh, the Word incarnate.
All: Amen.
Inez
Torres Davis, Associate In Ministry, serves as an
associate for programs, Women of the ELCA.
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