Mother’s Day and worship: Do the two belong together?

And the tradition has continued.

Interestingly enough, less than a decade after the holiday was established, Jarvis reversed course and spoke out against the day, disillusioned by its pervasive commercialization.

My question about the appropriateness of the day in conjunction with church apparently is shared by others.

The discussion goes on both sides. Brett McCracken, author, of Hipster Christianity said, “Churches should seize upon any opportunity to honor the profession of motherhood.”

But John Witvliet observes that out of every 5 people who go to church, at least one is angry when they think of mothers, and “a lot of people all mixed” about motherhood. Ellen Dollar wants us to remember those who don’t have children. “When you hold up mothers in this very public way it can be very painful for people who don’t have kids, even if it’s their choice, but especially if it’s not.”

Another calls it “The cult of the family” that pervades many churches. We “make it the highest and holiest of callings for women.”

But the one that resonated with me most is this, from William Willamina. “I think one of today’s threats to theology in my part of the church is not fundamentalism, it’s sentimentalism. And Mother’s Day, which as far as I can tell is a boondoggle created by florists, appears to be just another occasion to say, ‘Well now, Christianity is feeling something mushy in your heart. Christianity is mainly feeling something emotional, sentimental, about something.’ And we all tend to get kind of sentimental about our mothers.”