MOTHER'S DAY
  
MUSIC & WORSHIP RESOURCES

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Kimberly Knight, Guest Lectionary Liturgist
Praise and Worship Leader, Capitol Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church, Washington, DC

Worship Planning Notes

See section 14 (Other Worship Recommendations) for wonderful Mother’s Day ideas.

1. Litany or Invocation
Prelude Music
(a) O Magnify the Lord with Me. By Frank Williams. Based on Psalm 34. For SSAATTBB, organ, opt. brass septet

2. Hymns and Congregational Songs
(a)  Faith of Our Mothers. Text by A. B. Patten. Tune, (St. Catherine) by Henri Frederick Hemy

(b)  Now Thank We All Our God. By Martin Rinkart. Tune, (Nun Danket) by Johan Cruger

(c)  Jesus Savior Pilot Me. By Edward Hopper. Tune, (Pilot) by John E. Gould

(d)  Come Sing Praises to Our Mothers. By Mark Ryman. Tune, (Beecher) by John Zundel.
        This new hymn (2004) is set to a familiar tune

“Come, sing praises to our Mothers
who have tuned our hearts to You.”

3. Spirituals or Traditional Songs
(a)  Something Within. Traditional. By Lucie Campbell. Arr. by Nathan Carter. This selection is   
      for mixed choir and soprano solo.

(b) Guide My Feet. Spiritual

(c) Shine on Me. Spiritual

(d) Certainly Lord. Spiritual

(e) Every Time I Feel the Spirit. Spiritual

4. Gospel Songs for Choirs, Praise Teams, or Ensembles
(a) Mothers Are Special. By Vincent Gray and Percy Gray, Jr.

(b) Mama. By Candi Staton

(c) Every Day Is Like Mother’s Day. By Shirley Caesar

(d) Special Lady. By Carvin Winans

(e) Mama Loves Her Children. By Dorothy Norwood

5. Liturgical Dance or Mime Music
(a) We Thirst for You. By John W. Ragsdale

(b) Lord, You’re Holy. By Eddie James

(c) Mama’s Kitchen. By Heather Headley, D. Ramsey, S. Sanders, and T. Sims

6. Anthems
(a)  A Good and Faithful Servant of the Lord. By David Lantz III

(b)  Bless the Lord Oh My Soul. By Willis Barnett

7. Modern Songs
(a) There’s a Lifting of the Hands. By Tim Johnson

(b) For Your Goodness. By Anne Barbour

8. Song or Instrumental for the Offertory Period
(a) Mama Prayed for Me. Traditional

(b) Lookin’ Out for Me. By Kirk Franklin

(c) How Great Is Our God. By Ed Cash, Jesse Reeves, and Chris Tomlin

(d) Jesus You’re Wonderful. By Stephen A. Hurd

9. Song or Instrumental for the Period of Prayer
(a)  Draw Me Close to You/I Am Thine Oh Lord/Draw Me Nearer. By Kelly Carpenter, Fannie  
 J. Crosby, and W. Howard Doane

(b) I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes. By Judith Christie-McAllister and Jason White

10. Sermonic Selection
(a) If I Could Say a Word. By Donald Lawrence

(b) His Strength Is Perfect. By Steven Curtis Chapman and Jerry Salley

(c) Only If God Says Yes. By Kevin Bond

(d) Center of My Joy. By Richard Smallwood

11. Invitational Song or Instrumental
(a) Do You Know Jesus? By David Frazier

(b) My Father Watches Over Me. By W. C. Martin. Tune by Charles H. Gabriel

(c) He’s Been Just That Good. By Kirk Whalum

12. Benediction Song or Instrumental
(a) Alpha and Omega. By Erasmus Mutanbira. Tune, Traditional African

(b) Always Remember. By Andraé Crouch

13. Audio Visual Suggestions
(a) Find a soundtrack of an instrumental composition (i.e., movie soundtrack, etc.) and write lyrics based on funny things mothers say and do. Have the soundtrack play while one or more persons deliver the lyrics. This can be presented by one or two people during Offertory in the worship service, or during a planned Mother’s Day Brunch.

The Northland Church, in Longwood, Florida presented a hilarious example of this. Christian Comedian Anita Renfroe (also the wife of a Baptist pastor, and mother of 3 children) wrote “The Mom Song” and set it to the familiar composition “William Tell Overture” by Gioachino Rossini. It is a funny take on everything a mother would say to her children in a 24-hour period.

(b) Find an appropriate image for your bulletin/order of worship cover and include a Scripture, song lyric, or quote:

• www.eyekons.com
  
• www.flournoyfineartstudio.com
• www.worshipphotos.com

14. Other Recommendations
(a) Recognize women in the congregation who are mothers in families and spiritual mothers.

(b) Host a Mother’s Day Makeover, “Walking in the Spirit,” that is not focused on outward beauty, make up, etc., but rather is focused on developing the fruits of the Spirit. The theme song could be “Walking in the Spirit” performed by the Clark Sisters. This can be an afternoon of workshops on Dealing with Stress, Relaxation Tips, Daily Devotional for Mothers/Women, Health, Forgiveness, etc.

(c) Have worship leaders acknowledge how Mother’s Day can renew the hurt for some women who have never been mothers, mothers who have lost children, and mothers whose children are not walking with the Lord. Worship planners should not arbitrarily acknowledge these experiences in worship services. Rather, they should make use of natural opportunities that occur in every congregation to remember those facing infertility, miscarriage, and adoption. Some appropriate music for this is:

1. Come Unto Me. By Omerror Dawson
   
   
2. He Will Supply. By Kirk Franklin
   
   
3. The Lord Will Make a Way Somehow. By Thomas Dorsey

(d) Give to the mothers in the congregation long-lasting small potted plants with the points wrapped in ribbon.

(e) Hold a Mother’s Day Brunch with the theme “In Her Shoes.”

• Overview of Theme: The theme “In Her Shoes” would focus on the stories and testimonies of mothers, grandmothers, daughters, and other women of nurture.

• Guest Speaker: Suggest a Mother-and-Daughter ministry team. These may be persons from your local congregation or invited guests.

• Preparation:
• 4 weeks before the program, send out invitations that include program information, speaker, etc. Invite women in the congregation to submit a pair of shoes. The shoes would be properly labeled by the program facilitators to ensure that they can be returned to the owners at the end of the program.
• Women should also give their birth year to help determine who the oldest and youngest mothers are. Or women can indicate how long they have been a mother, as way to distinguish length of motherhood, versus age of women.
• Gifts:
  A fun gift for selected mothers (the oldest, youngest, etc.) would be an edible chocolate shoe! Gayles Chocolates has several wonderful options which can be found at www.gayleschocolates.com. The “shoe” measures 7 inches long, 5 1/2 inches high. The shoes are available in dark chocolate with pink (strawberry) polka dots, milk with pink polka dots, pink with dark accents, and white chocolate with dark accents. There are even gold and silver mules. These gifts will be memorable!

• Set up:
• Set up the room with round tables for 8–10 people.      
• Each table would have as a centerpiece a pair of men’s sandals—ideally, they should be slightly elevated in the middle of the table. Each table should have a table number that is easily identifiable.
• On the tables, place 4–5 ladies’ shoes (just one of the shoes in the pair; how many you place on a table will depend upon whether the table seats 8 or 10).
• The matches for each of the ladies shoes on the table should be tagged with a number for the corresponding table, and then placed in a shoe bag. Or, the shoes can be displayed on a tiered shoe rack and tagged.
• As the women arrive they should be given a shoe bag, or they should select a shoe from the rack—it should not be the shoe they submitted—and then they are to find the table to which their tag corresponds.
• Once the women find their table, they should place the shoe next to the matching shoe in the circle on the table.
• You can also assign women from the planning team to move from table to table to help facilitate discussion at each table. Remember, the discussion should simply concern facets of women’s lives.

• Program Outline:

In Her Shoes
A Mother’s Day Brunch

Prayer
Welcome
The Occasion

Poem (see the Lectionary Reading for Mother’s Day) or Video (See 13(a).)

Serving of Meal/Sharing of Stories and Testimonies
During this time, the women should share their stories and testimonies with others at their table.

Introduction of Speaker
Have a young mother introduce the speaker.

Music
(Theme song: “Walking In the Spirit” by The Clark Sisters)

Speaker(s)
Mother-and-Daughter ministry team (or at least a female clergy)

Prayer for Mothers
This prayer should also connect with mothers whose children are deceased, whose children are incarcerated, or who children no longer attend church; and families who have lost their mother.

Presentation of Gifts
Gifts can be given to the oldest and youngest mothers present or to all mothers over a certain age. See 14(d) and 14(e).

Closing Remarks

Benediction

Cites and Additional Information for Music and Material Listed