In the United Kingdom, Ireland and some Commonwealth countries, Mothering Sunday is the\u00a0fourth Sunday\u00a0in Lent. Celebrated since the Middle Ages, it was traditionally a time Christians visited their Mother church, the one in which they had received the sacrament of baptism. The modern American version of the holiday began in 1907, when Anna Jarvis organized the first service of worship and celebration at Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in West Virginia. In 1912, she trademarked the phrase \u201cSecond Sunday in May, Mother\u2019s Day,\u201d noting that \u201cMother\u2019s\u201d should \u201cbe a singular possessive, for each family to honor its own mother, not a plural possessive commemorating all mothers in the world.\u201d Not everyone has been a mother, but all of us have had a mother.\u00a0 Sometimes the experience can be less than positive.\u00a0 Several in our congregation will share their reflections on having or being a mother, or undertaking the role of a Mother figure. The forum after the service will be an opportunity for others to share their stories and experiences, good or bad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"