Mothering Sunday, 30 March 2025

Hymn – For the beauty of the earth

Greeting

Praise God who loves us.

Praise God who cares.

Praising and Thanking God

God’s love is like a light in our lives.

Blessed be God for ever.

We praise you, God, for all mothers who have loved and laughed and laboured as they cared for their children.

Blessed be God for ever.

We praise you, God, for all mothers who have wept in sorrow and joy for their children.

Blessed be God for ever.

We praise you, God, for Jesus, born of a woman and nurtured in her love, and for Mary, a reminder of your patient, waiting love.

Blessed be God for ever.

Confession

Let us call to mind our sin,

our failure to value the love of others

and our failure to love as Christ has loved us.

Your love gives us life from the moment of conception.

We fail to live as your children.

Lord, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

You call us to do good. We seek our own good.

Christ, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

You hear us when we cry for help. We ignore the cries of others.

Lord, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

Absolution

May the Father of all mercies

cleanse you from your sins,

and restore you in his image,

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

The Collect

God of compassion,

whose Son Jesus Christ, the child of Mary,

shared the life of a home in Nazareth,

and on the cross drew the whole human family to himself:

strengthen us in our daily living

that in joy and sorrow

we may know the power of your presence

to bind together and to heal;

through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,

who is alive and reigns with you

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever. Amen.

A reading from the book of Exodus.

A man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman.  The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him for three months.  When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river.  His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him.  The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it.  When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him, ‘This must be one of the Hebrews’ children,’ she said.  Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?’  Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Yes.’ So the girl went and called the child’s mother.  Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.’ So the woman took the child and nursed it.  When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, ‘because,’ she said, ‘I drew him out of the water.

Exodus 2.1-10

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Colossians.

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.  Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.  Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.  And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.  And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3.12-17

Hymn – Bind us together, Lord

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.

Standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.  When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’  Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

John 19.25b-27

Reflection

Profession of Faith

Let us declare our faith in God.

We believe in God the Father,

from whom every family

in heaven and on earth is named.

We believe in God the Son,

who lives in our hearts through faith,

and fills us with his love.

We believe in God the Holy Spirit,

who strengthens us

with power from on high.

We believe in one God,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.  

Intercessions

The Collect

Loving God,

as a mother feeds her children at the breast

you feed us with your word of eternal life:

help us who have tasted your goodness to grow in grace

within the household of faith;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins

as we forgive those who sin against us.

Lead us not into temptation

but deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power

and the glory are yours

now and for ever. Amen.

Prayer for Mothers

Praise God who loves us.

Praise God who cares.

For the care of mothers;

Thanks be to God.

For their patience when tested;

Thanks be to God.

For their love when tired;

Thanks be to God.

For their hope when despairing;

Thanks be to God.

For their service without limit;

Thanks be to God.

Thank you God for the love of our mothers:

Thank you God for their care and concern;

Thank you God for the joys they have shared with us;

Thank you God for the pains they have borne for us;

Thank you God for all that they give us;

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Blessing

May God, who gave birth to all creation, bless you:

may God, who became incarnate by an earthly mother, bless you:

may God, who broods as a mother over her children, bless you:

may almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

now and forever. Amen.

Hymn – Tell out my soul

The Dismissal

Go in the peace of Christ.

Thanks be to God.

Liturgical material is taken from Common Worship the Copyright for which belongs to the Archbishops’ Council and the scripture readings are taken from NRSV