Mother's Day

It is noted by those who track such things that the Mother's Day weekend traditionally attracts the third highest number of Christian worship attenders for the year, trailing only Christmas and Easter. Part of the reason for this is that adult children (and their families) return from distant places to visit Mom, and they frequently attend church services with her. Other worship guests show up as extended family members of the honorees. I have known of some congregations which have their highest worship attendance of the year on Mother's Day, actually surpassing the other two holidays.

A number of church guests this weekend will be nominal Christians, that is, folks who claim many of the common beliefs of Christianity but who do not see a need to live out those beliefs in their day-to-day decision-making and lifestyle. Others will be folks who have been actively engaged in church life at some point in the past, but currently are not involved much, if at all. Still others are agnostic, or indifferent toward faith matters, simply attending the services as a family obligation.

What is the typical church-goer's attitude about these guests? No doubt many are delighted to welcome these newcomers, hoping they will find meaning in the experience of their church's worship and wish to return at some point. Some, though, may harbor other feelings, internally criticizing folks for not attending with greater regularity. The disciple of Jesus who is interested in sharing faith with others will notice the opportunity to begin to develop relationships with new friends, believing that in the context of friendship over time, it will be possible to show what Christian faith means to them.