This prayer was offered by Pastor Todd during our Zoom Worship on May 10, 2020.

This morning we come to you oh God, who is our center, with many joys and troubles on our heart. We turn to you in prayer because we know–we claim and believe–that you hear our prayers and that we are never alone.

This morning we lean especially into the maternal nature of you, oh God, our creator who gave birth to this world and all life upon it. You, oh God, have created each of us, fearfully and wonderfully in our mother’s womb and we are thankful.

This morning we pray with gratitude for mothers—those who gave us life, those who have been like a mother to us—some of whom are still with us and some who have gone on from this life.

In the spirit of prayer, I invite you to say aloud or in the silence of your heart, the name of a mother you wish to lift up in prayer, joy, or memory…

We pray your blessing, mother God, on these who have been named. May they feel in this moment a special warmth in their hearts. May they feel honored and may they be blessed.

We pray also for

…for grandmothers, and sisters, and aunts, and sister-friends who provide for us a mother’s love

…for those who hope to someday become a mother…

…for those who have encountered difficulty becoming a mother…

….for those who have experienced loss as a mother…

…for those mothers who are in detention prisons or who have been separated from their children…

…for mothers of Black and brown boys who constantly fear for the safety of their sons and for mothers like Wanda Cooper, the mother of Ahmed Arbery, who continue to have their children taken from them as a result of the sin of racism

…for those with difficult relationships and experiences with mothers, bring about healing and reconciliation, Oh God

…and for those who are feeling the ache of the loss of their mothers, comfort them with happy memories and the hope of seeing them again one day.

All of these we lift up to you this morning, oh God. 

Comfort us, care for us, nurture us as a hen who gathers her children under her wing. 

Amen and Ashe