May08_01

Julia Ward Howe, Juliet Calhoun Blakeley and Anna Jarvis
share the honours for the present day commemoration of Mother's Day.

The first mention of the idea of Mother's Day can be traced to Julia Ward Howe who
suggested it in 1872. Howe, who wrote the words to the Battle Hymn of the Republic, saw
Mother's Day as being dedicated to peace. Ms. Howe would hold, organized Mother's Day
meetings in Boston, Mass every year.

The first known observance of Mother's Day in America occurred in Albion, Michigan on
the second Sunday in May, 1877. It was the actions of an Albion Pioneer woman, Juliet
Calhoun Blakeley, that set Mother's Day in motion. Two days before her 59th birthday on
May 11th, 1877, three young men, all sons of staunch temperance advocates, were found
drunk on the streets of Albion's business district. They had been the victims of
anti-temperance shenanigans.

One of the young men was the son of the pastor of the local Methodist Episcopal Church.
On Sunday (Mrs. Blakeley's birthday) the pastor was so distraught that he had to leave
the pulpit before the services were concluded. Mrs. Blakeley, sitting near the front,
stepped to the pulpit to take over the remainder of the service and called other mothers to
join her.

Mrs. Blakeley's sons, Charles C. and Moses A. were traveling salesmen. They were so
moved by her gesture that they vowed to return to Albion every year to mark their
mother's birthday anniversary and to pay tribute to her. In addition, the two brothers made
it a practice to urge business associates and those they met on the road to honor their
mothers accordingly on the second Sunday of May. Because of the brothers urgings, the
Methodist Episcopal Church in Albion set aside the second Sunday of each May to pay
special recognition to mothers, and especially to Juliet Calhoun Blakeley "The Original
Mother of Mother's Day", early in the 1880's.

But it is Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia who is credited with bringing about the official
observance of Mother's Day. Her campaign to establish such a holiday began as a
remembrance of her mother, who died in 1905 and who had, in the late 19th century, tried
to establish "Mother's Friendship Days" as a way to heal the scars of the Civil War. Anna
was not quite 2 years old when her family moved to Grafton, four miles south of Webster,
W.Va. According to historical records, Anna heard her mother express hope that a
memorial would be established for all mothers, living and dead.

After the death of her father in 1902, Anna -- along with her mother and sister, Lillie --
moved to Philadelphia to reside with her brother, Claude. After Ann's death May 9, 1905,
Anna began an intense campaign to fulfill the wish of her mother.

On May 10, 1908, the third anniversary of Ann's death, a program was held at Andrews
Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton and in Philadelphia, launching the observance of a
general memorial day for all mothers.

The first Mother's Day proclamation was issued by West Virginia's governor in 1910. The
day was celebrated in most states in 1911.
In 1914, the U.S. House and Senate approved a resolution proclaiming the second
Sunday of May as Mother's Day. President Woodrow Wilson endorsed it, and Secretary of
State William Jennings Bryan proclaimed it.
Today, most of us celebrate Mother's Day with little awareness of how it began. But we can
identify with the respect, love and honor that Anna Jarvis displayed nearly a century ago.
Women, especially mothers, face new challenges in society today, but motherhood
remains a lasting influence on us as individuals and as a nation.

Eternal God, on this day we lift up mothers to you. You, O Lord, are the one who, from our
mothers* arms, hath blessed us on our way with countless gifts of love, and still is ours
today.
Scripture has prepared us to recognize that by your grace, mothering takes many forms.
We pray for mothers around us . . .

. . . For those who, like Jesus* mother Mary, have been surprised by the unexpected
responsibility of parenting. Remind us not so much of the circumstance through which
children come into the world, but that they are always a gift from you. Help us to always
see your image in them.

. . . We pray for those who, like Naomi, find themselves parenting someone outside the
predictable patterns of mothering. Bless this day all grandparents, aunts, foster parents,
adoptive parents, and kindly people who care for children.

. . . And we give thanks for those like Ruth who become caregivers for their elders.
Because the generations that need to be mothered and the seasons of our lives can
change, we sometimes find ourselves mothering those who have even forgotten who we
are. We take strength in knowing that you remember their identity when they no longer do.
Grant courage and strength to all those who provide care in your name.

. . . We pray for those who, like Hannah, have struggled with the task of letting go of a
child. Teach us to support our children, even when the calling of their hearts does not
meet our greatest hope for them.

. . . We pray for those like Mary or Rachel who have known the deepest agony of a child*s
death. Remind them again that nothing can separate their child from your certain love.
Give strength and peace to those who mourn and those who cannot stop mourning.

. . . Despite our best efforts, families are breeched and broken by death, disaster, or
disagreement. Help us, like Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, to regroup our families in
confident hope that in due season wounds shall be healed and oneness restored.

. . . On this day we set aside to remember mothering, we also call to mind those men who
are called to the vocation of mothering, those who, in the absence of another, seek the
heart of a Mary or a Rachel. Let us renew our commitment to uphold them this day.

Loving God, the bond between parent and child can be the most intimate and nurturing of
our lives. When this is our experience it is indeed a foretaste of your realm.

To remember mothers on one day is not enough. So, fashion in us a people who pray,
work, laugh, and weep with mothers and children in whatever circumstance is most faithful.

For this we seek your grace and presence. Through Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit,
we pray. Amen.