Seeker

Today in the UK is 'Mothering Sunday'. For me it is the first one since my mother died in 2013, so it feels bitter-sweet. The day comes on the 4th Sunday of Lent and was once a day to return to the 'mother church' of your area or to honour Mary, mother of Jesus. Lent fasting rules were relaxed and it was also sometimes known as 'refreshment' Sunday. At one time children employed as domestic servants or apprentices were given the day off to visit their mothers and perhaps take a cake or posy of flowers. You can find other posts about Mothering Sunday in  'Refreshment' , 'Mothering Sunday' and 'Mothering Sunday 2013' . I resist calling today 'Mother's Day', much preferring 'Mothering Sunday' as a more inclusive way of looking at it. Not everyone is or can be a mother but we can all do what mother's do in the sense of providing a safe space for others to grow and flourish. And we all need to receive we...

https://openclipart.org/detail/178273/fire-alarm-by-mi_brami-178273 Last Sunday didn't include our usual Sunday routine. It was the only opportunity we had to hear the publication of the Banns of Marriage of our daughter an d her  fiancé, so w e caught an early train to travel  to the parish where they live. We got there in time to meet them for  the 'Parish Mass'. It was our first visit to that church. I thought I knew what to expect - organ, choir, vestments, lots of candles and incense. Having checked the website I even knew what the hymns and other music would be and the names of who would be doing what in the service. What we had not expected was a (planned) fire drill during the service. This was a first for me - and also it would seem for the regulars. How did I get to be so old and never once had to evacuate a church during a Holy Communion service? It was carefully timed with respect to the liturgy, after the 'Intercessions' and before 'The Pe...

Today 2 5 March used to be known as Lady Day in England. It was also New Year's Day until 1752 - a point that historians and genealogists need to bear in mind when considering year dates. The 'Lady' after whom the day was named is Mary, mother of Jesus. Today is a Feast Day in Anglican, Roman Catholic and other church calendars - the Annunciation of our Lord to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It celebrates the announcement to Mary by the angel Gabriel that she would bear a son conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. You can read the story in Luke 1: 26 - 38 . For obvious reasons this feast is calendared 9 months before the celebration of Jesus' birth at Christmas. Last Sunday I was travelling on the London Underground and heard an announcement that was completely incomprehensible. Had we understood it we might not have tried to change to the Jubilee Line at a station where that was temporarily impossible. Perhaps we should have taken more care to ponder what it meant a...