MOTHER’S DAY

MUSIC & WORSHIP RESOURCES

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Donna M. Cox, Guest Lectionary Liturgist
Professor of Music, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH

Worship Planning Notes

The following are some ideas for celebrating this year’s Mother’s Day.

1. Two to three weeks prior, ask members to record brief statements about the impact their mother or another woman has had on their faith development. Have the media ministry or volunteers create a short PowerPoint presentation or movie featuring some of the most poignant of these statements. Be sure to include speakers in all age categories.

2. Pass out index cards to the congregation a week or two prior to the service. Ask them to write brief statements about the woman who has most nurtured their faith. Create a bulletin board display with the cards. Encourage people to stop by and read them throughout the next few weeks. You might also include photos.

3. Introduce Contemporary Women of Faith. Help your congregation, school, club, etc. become familiar with some of the contemporary Mothers of our Faith Community, such as Rabbi Alysa Stanton, America’s first black female rabbi, Congregation Bayt Shalom in Greenville, North Carolina.

4. As congregants enter the sanctuary, give each a length of ribbon. Ask congregants to think of their mother, grandmother, or other woman who holds a special place in their hearts. Ask them to write the name of this special woman on the ribbon. During prayer time, ask people to bring their length of ribbon with them to the altar. Emphasize gratefulness during the prayer. Afterwards, ask people to link their ribbons, creating a long chain that should be draped in a conspicuous place throughout the service. This will signify the connectedness that is critical to building faith.

5. Open the service with a call to the village. While percussionists play upbeat African rhythms, have youth dancers escort the eldest mother into the sanctuary. Lead her to a place of honor near the front of the church, where she would be asked permission to continue to program. After permission is granted, she would be led to her seat and the worship service would begin with a joyous song.

6. Look for the family with the largest number of living generations of women and feature them during the worship service. If it is appropriate, ask some of them to speak about the role faith has played in their lives.

1. Litany, Responsive Reading, Invocation, or Call to Worship

Mother’s Day Liturgy

2. Hymns
(a) Mothering God, You Gave Me Birth. By Jean Janzen and H. Percy Smith

(b) He Looked Beyond My Faults and Saw My Needs. Arr. by Dottie Rambo

(c) For All the Saints. By William How and Ralph Vaughn Williams

(d) Faith of Our Mothers. Arr. by James. G. Walton

3. Spirituals or Traditional Songs             
(a) We Are Marching (Siyahamba/Caminando).

(b) I Opened My Mouth. By Lela Anderson

(c) Somebody’s Knocking at Your Door. Arr. by Raymond Wise

(d) Give Me Jesus. Arr. by Verolga Nix

4. Gospel Songs for Choirs, Ensembles, or Praise Teams
(a) My Tribute. By Andraé Crouch

(b) God Is Here. By Israel Houghton, Martha Munizzi, and Meleasa Houghton

(c) My Life, My Love, My All. By Kirk Franklin. Arr. by Dave Williamson

(d) God’s Got It. By Jimmy Hicks and Darrell McFadden

5. Liturgical Dance or Mime Ministry Music
(a) When You Believe (from The Prince of Egypt). By Stephen Schwartz

(b) Mama’s Song. By Kirk Franklin

(c) A Song for Mama. By Kenneth Edmonds

6. Anthems
(a) Rejoice in the Lord. By Diane White-Clayton

(b) Ascribe to the Lord. By Rosephanye Powell

(c) Come Unto Me All Ye That Labor. By Rosephanye Powell

(d) I Will Trust in the Lord. By Undine Smith Moore

(e) Lord, We Give Thanks to Thee. By Undine Smith Moore

7. Modern Songs (Written between 2005–2010)
(a) You Covered Me. By Donald Lawrence

(b) Won’t He Make a Way? By Patrick Lundy

8. Offertory Song or Instrumental
(a) Come Let’s Celebrate. By Rosephanye Powell

(b) Celebrate. By Donald Lawrence

(c) Shake Yourself Loose. By Bernard Hale, Kaija Haley, and Vickie Winans

9. Song or Instrumental for the Period of Prayer
(a) A Mother’s Prayer. By J.W. Van DeVenter and W.S. Weeden

(b) I Need You to Survive. By David Frazier

(c) Jesus, I Love You. By Jeff Switzer

10. Sermonic Selection
(a) I Call You Faithful. By Bobby Price and Kevin Walker

(b) For Every Mountain. By Kurt Carr

(c) Philippians 4:12 (Stand). By Stephen Hurd

11. Invitational Song or Instrumental
(a) Give Thanks. By Henry Smith

(b) Come Home. By Stephen Hurd

(c) Restoring the Years. By Donald Lawrence

12. Benediction Song or Instrumental
(a) The Lord Bless You and Keep You. By Peter Lutkin

(b) Sevenfold Amen. By Peter Lutkin

(c) Good Time. By Arvis Strictland-Jones

13. Additional Resources
(a) Mothers’ Prayers: Prayers by and for Mothers. This is a wonderful collection of poetry for all mothers: adoptive, single, those with ill or disabled children, empty-nest mothers, those who grieve, and those with adult children.

(b) Poetry about mothers
1. “Phenomenal Woman.” By Maya Angelou

2. The Images of Mother. Author unknown

The Images of Mother
4 YEARS OF AGE
My Mommy can do anything!
8 YEARS OF AGE
My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!
12 YEARS OF AGE
My Mother doesn’t really know quite everything.
14 YEARS OF AGE
Naturally, Mother doesn’t know that either.
16 YEARS OF AGE
Mother? She’s hopelessly old-fashioned.
18 YEARS OF AGE
That old woman? She’s way out of date!
25 YEARS OF AGE
Well, she might know a little bit about it.
35 YEARS OF AGE
Before we decide, let’s get Mom’s opinion.
60 YEARS OF AGE
Wonder what Mom would have thought about it?
65 YEARS OF AGE
Wish I could talk it over with Mom once more.

(c) Mothers of Disabled Children. By Erma Bombeck

Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures and a couple by habit.

This year, nearly 100,000 women will become mothers of handicapped children. Did you ever wonder how these mothers of handicapped children are chosen?

Somehow I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting His instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As He observes, He instructs His angels to make notes in a giant ledger.

“Armstrong, Beth: son; patron saint, Matthew. Forest, Marjorie: daughter; patron saint, Cecilia.

“Rutledge, Carrie: twins; patron saint . . . Gerard. He’s used to profanity.”

Finally He passes a name to an angel and smiles. “Give her a blind child.”

The angel is curious. “Why this one, God? She’s so happy.”

“Exactly,” says God. “Could I give a child with a handicap to a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel.”

“But has she patience?” asks the angel.

“I don’t want her to have too much patience, or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she’ll handle it.”

“But, Lord, I don’t think she even believes in you.”

God smiles. “No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness.”

The angel gasps. “Selfishness? Is that a virtue?”

God nods. “If she can’t separate herself from the child occasionally, she’ll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn’t realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a spoken word. She will never consider a step ordinary. When her child says ‘Momma’ for the first time, she will be present at a miracle and know it! When she describes a tree or a sunset to her blind child, she will see it as few people ever see my creations.

“I will permit her to see clearly the things I see—ignorance, cruelty, prejudice—and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life, because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side.”

“And what about her patron saint?” asks the angel, pen poised in midair.

God smiles. “A mirror will suffice.”

Cites and Additional Information for Music and Material Listed

Worship Planning Notes
3. Read about Rabbi Alysa Stanton, America’s first black female rabbi, Congregation Bayt Shalom in Greenville, North Carolina, at http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=7639090&page

(b) Poetry about mothers
1. Phenomenal Woman. By Maya Angelou
Online location: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/phenomenal-woman/

2. The Images of Mother. Author unknown
Online location: http://www.topbabypages.com/momwritings.html

(c) Bombeck, Erma. “Mothers of Disabled Children,” May 11, 1980. Forever, Erma: Best-Loved Writings from America’s Favorite Humorist. Kansas City, KS: Andrews and McMeel, 1996, 165–166.