09/05/2026
As Mother’s Day approaches on the second Sunday of May (10th of May), our wider culture rightly takes time to honour and give thanks for mothers.
In the life of the church, we have an opportunity to deepen that celebration by reclaiming this day as Mothering Sunday*—a moment to recognise not only biological motherhood, but the many ways God nurtures his people through the care of others.
Mothering Sunday* invites us to give thanks for the women in our church family who have quietly and faithfully loved, served, taught, prayed, encouraged, and sustained others in Christ. Many among us have been “spiritual mothers”—whether through raising children in the faith, welcoming newcomers, discipling younger believers, offering hospitality, or simply being a steady presence of grace and wisdom. I myself have been blessed by God with a spiritual mother and for that I am extremely thankful.
Both Rachel and I personally appreciate that this can also be a tender day. For some, it carries grief, longing, or complicated memories. Reclaiming Mothering Sunday helps us hold both joy and sorrow together, as we recognise that the church is a family where each person is seen, valued, and cared for.
So on the 2nd Sunday in May, we will celebrate Mothering Sunday with our local community and nation, taking the time in our gathering to give thanks for all who nurture the life of our community, and to praise God, from whom all love and care flow.
“Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.” (Psalm 27:10)
We look forward to gathering together on Mothering Sunday, falling as it does this year on the 10th of May.
Grace and peace,
Lee
* I am of course aware that the fourth Sunday in Lent is Mothering Sunday in the UK and that in some churches it has often been acknowledged as such within the Anglican Church of Australia - though I would suggest to a diminishing extent. Even so, Mothering Sunday on the fourth Sunday in Lent was also established around a particular set of historic circumstances that existed in the UK at the time.
