Easter 7 Resource

The Church of the Nativity is conducting a debt reduction drive and is temporarily straying from the lectionary. However, here is a Call to Worship based on John 17:22-23 and a litany for Mother's Day which was adapted from a wonderful litany by the Rev. Jane Sommers. Please use or adapt them if they are helpful to you.

Call to Worship    From John 17:22-23    “That They May All be One”

L: Sisters and brothers, let us recall Jesus’ prayer for unity:  

     God, my Father, I pray for my followers,

     and for those who will come to trust in me through their witness.

P: I pray that they may all be one, just as we are one.

L: As you, God, dwell in me and I dwell in you, may they also dwell in us.

P: My Spirit is alive in them and your Spirit is alive in me.

L: May they live in such perfect unity that the world will know

     that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.

All: I pray that they may all be one, just as we are one.

       Let us worship God! 

A Litany for Mothers and Those Who Offer a Mother’s Care

                                                              Adapted from the Rev. Jane Sommers

  L:    Gracious God, you are the Creator of our world and of our lives.

          You gift us with your Spirit of love. Your divine love empowers all

          human parents.      

  P:    As we celebrate your love, we lift to you those who birthed us,

          blessed us, and taught us: our mothers. May your blessing be with

          all who brought us into this world, and upon all the beautiful,

          strong women of faith who have mothered us along our journey.        

L:     We praise you, O God, for your gift of motherly love: gentle and fierce; strong and humble; kind and true. Many are the mothers who embodied your love; who worked hard to raise us, cared enough to correct us, and blessed us with their guidance and love.

P:    Now we also call forth your compassion on every mother who has

        been unable to carry your love and who has caused pain and

        suffering. And we lift to you these mothers, so imperfect and also so wounded by the world.

L:     We bless our mothers this day no matter what they have done or left

        undone. We do this because we believe in your healing love. We know that you love all mothers, and we stand together with them in solidarity, for we are all in need of your grace.

P:    We lift to you every mother who has watched her child die of 

         hunger, all who struggle under conditions of violence or poverty,

         and all whose dreams of mothering have come undone. May you

         comfort them, and may you empower us to work for a better world!   

All:      We lift to you our Mother Earth. We lift to you our Mother Church. We praise you, O God, for your mother’s heart, and we pray that this day you will help each of us to be your blessing of love. Amen.