I Heart Mother's Day

In the Baptist church, where we are usually fond of frequent meetings that often include Sunday morning and Sunday night church-- there are a few exceptions. These exceptions in tradition have become their own high holy days of sort, even though they have nothing to do with religious practice (as sad as that is): Mother's Day, Memorial Day, Father's Day, and the Fourth of July. These are days in which we deviate from tradition patterns and often have special events. Often times, this means special thematic worship services and Sunday evening activities are canceled.

To test my theory, I conferred with my parents and in-laws and a couple of friends who are devoted Baptists in different states. All of them told me that on the dates I just mentioned, there was no Sunday night church.

While I am very annoyed that in many Baptist churches we allow cultural traditions to rule our worship planning (What really does Mother's Day have to do with God anyway? What about those women who want to have children and can't? What about those persons who have recently lost a mother? How does a service devoted completely to their mothers make them feel?), I am thrilled to be in such a season of special events.

Why? Because it means I get a more manageable Sunday. I actually get the chance to rest like everyone else. I get to walk into my Monday feeling refreshed and more productive, instead of dragging around. Last night we did not have Sunday night church and I was incredibly happy! It felt like getting an extra day off.

I was able to enjoy a trip into the city to have lunch with my husband. Even though neither of us to be with our families on Mother's Day, we enjoyed the company of being together. I also took great pleasure in a long Sunday afternoon nap without having to set my alarm to make sure I was back to church in time for a meeting. Kevin and I then got to have dinner with a friend with enough time left over to finish up some house chores before our favorite Sunday night tv show came on: Brothers and Sisters (it was the season finale- so sad!).

While I realize that Sunday night events and activities are a great time for Christian discipleship and fellowship especially when week nights are already jammed packed, my personal opinion is that that practice of Sunday night church/ activities is outdated. Sunday is a day not only for worship, but for rest and family-- not more meetings.

But, for now, I'm only the associate pastor, and to Sunday night church I will continue to go. I leave you with two closing thoughts: I love Mother's Day. I can't wait till Memorial Day!