Opening Words: “We come together today in praise and thanksgiving”

We come together today in praise and thanksgiving
for the gift of life itself.
Someone gave birth to us and some of us have
given birth.
All of us have been mothered in our time,
All of us have mothered.
Let our time today be one of recognition--
That we arrive from so many places,
Joy and delight,
Wistfulness and longing and worry,
Unmet needs and unfulfilled dreams,
Loss and sorrow, loss and emptiness,
loss and regret.

All that life is made of, mothers are made of too.
Today we sing the songs of so many,
Mothers who are single parents, foster parents,
mothers who relinquished their young
out of necessity,
Mothers who found their heart in adoption,
Mothers who left their children in a thousand ways,
Mothers who rejoice and mothers who mourn.

We sing the songs of the grandmother, the auntie, the classroom teacher, the
Sunday School teacher, the babysitter, the neighbor with endless cookies and
time.

There is a kind of love we cannot live without.
It is never too late, no matter our age or situation.
We sing a song of gratitude for all the moments
of being known, being cherished, being found.