I was here at Bridge St United Church at 8:00 this morning in a "pre-game warm-up" practice which stretches back over the decades. It's always meant I left for whatever church I was serving early, even when our children were small. Ruth, my wife, would remind me from time to time that she was a single mom on Sunday mornings and that it was a challenge. Too often she arrived at worship feeling harried and admitted that the most tranquil moment of her week was when the children headed out for Sunday School. Calm and the company of adults for most of an hour!
My own mother was the one who explained to me as a child why we put money in the church envelopes each week to support Christ's work. She was the junior choir leader and somehow lived through having two sons under her tutelage. She was much more willing to explore the grey areas of faith in conversation than my father, even though he was the ordained minister.
Both Ruth and my mother have provided leadership in congregations in various ways, and both have an exemplary Christian faith. Ruth was the one who taught me to pray out loud when we began dating, and she has been a tremendous support in ministry through these 34 years since ordination.
My thanks and love to these two strong, resourceful, faithful mothers on this Mother's Day.
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