Weekly Update - 1st April
Dear sisters and brothers
Last Sunday was Mothers’ Day (I hope that hasn’t come as a surprise to you!). For some it is a day to give and receive presents and enjoy each-others’ company; for others it is a day to remember and give thanks; for yet others it is a difficult or sad day for many different reasons. These days it seems that it is also another money making opportunity as the shelves and TV adverts fill up with Mother’s Day gifts for us to buy and show just what wonderful mothers we have (or is it to show what wonderful children we are?).
You may know that the traditional term for Mother’s Day is Mothering Sunday. The festival dates back to the middle ages when, in the middle of Lent, people would return to the church in which they were baptised (often the nearby Cathedral or “Mother Church”). When doing so worshippers would take the opportunity to visit their family home and perhaps have a wee celebration and break from the Lent fast.
Although the celebration fell out of fashion over the years, it was revived, so I believe, at the beginning of the 20th Century, partly as a response against the introduction of the American concept of “Mother’s Day”. I don’t think those who advocated for Mothering Sunday had anything against mothers, but I believe that they wanted to keep its spiritual and Christian nature. A hundred years or so on we might regret that, as with so many things, the secular seems to have won against the spiritual and it’s hard to find a Mothering Sunday card amongst the “Happy Mother’s Day” ones. It’s also the case that, for many of us, if we were to return to the church in which we were baptised, we might find a pub, a block of flats, or an office block in its place. But the fact that we have this long tradition can give us pause for thought.
Firstly, it is a time in which we can remember and give thanks not only for our own mothers, but for those who have mothered us and for “mothering” in general, and in particular for those who have passed on the faith to us. We can remember and give thanks for the aspects of God’s character in which the true nature of motherhood is revealed. And we can remember and give thanks for the fact that in our baptism we were born anew into an eternal family. You may remember that once, when Jesus was told that his mother and family had come to see him, he replied by pointing to his followers and saying, “here are my mother and brothers and sisters” (Mark 3:34).
In an ever changing world, which has often lost its way, we can remember that the Church of Jesus Christ to which we belong will endure for ever. We belong to God as children, because God brought us to birth through Jesus. We must show an enduring love to the world around us, to each other and to God whatever the circumstance and whatever the cost because this is the mother love of God that we have been shown.
As Easter approaches I have attached our Easter programme along with the usual bits and pieces. As always, if I can be of any help, please do get in touch. And whilst you may not be able to visit the church in which you were baptised, I would be delighted to see you at one of our services in the weeks to come.
Ian
Rev. Ian Aitken
52 Ashgrove Road West
ABERDEEN
AB16 5EE
Tel. 01224 686929
iaitken@churchofscotland.org.uk
www.stockethillchurch.org.uk
Aberdeen: Stockethill Church of Scotland
Scottish Charity Number - SC030587