Did you know that the modern holiday that we know as Mother’s Day was first celebrated in 1908 at a United Methodist church in West Virginia? The church, St. Andrews United Methodist Church, now holds the International Mother’s Day Shrine.
Recognizing and honoring Mother’s Day in church is always a little tricky. While we want to honor the wonderful mothers in our lives who have guided us and loved us, we must also be mindful that not everyone has had the blessing of a good relationship with a mother. Moreover, there are many women who, for a variety of reasons, have not had the privilege of becoming a mother. For our worship a Grace this Mother’s Day, we will have a brief time at the beginning of each service to recognize and celebrate mothers, but the message and music will celebrate God’s love and power in Christian community.
I am particularly excited that we will welcome our confirmands at our 9:30 service this week. We have five confirmands becoming members at Grace, and another four who will become members of First UMC Cocoa Beach. I am grateful to our children and youth ministry team and all the mentors who have supported the confirmation journey of these young people.
Our scripture passage for Sunday is Acts 9:36-43. We continue to follow the exciting journey of the early church in Acts. The message title is “Peter finds the Living Among the Dead.”
This will be a great Sunday at Grace. I look forward to seeing you in worship!
Pastor Steve Hart