Friends and Neighbors,

This Sunday is Mother's Day and also Good Shepherd Sunday. Both celebrations have been shaped and changed over the years. Good Shepherd Sunday got the name as we do read the passage from John 10 about Jesus the Good Shepherd, and Mother's Day has roots going back to Mothering Sunday in England. The establishment of Mother's Day in the United States was motivated by the recognition of the work of Ann Reeves Jarvis, Julia Ward Howe, and Anna M. Jarvis. These women worked for sanitary health care for soldiers and were advocates for peace during the Civil War. They imagined a union of mothers who would call for peace because mothers knew so deeply the loss of their children to war. Mothering and shepherding call for similar qualities of protection and care. 

The Church is often spoken of in maternal language. It is that place meant to be a nurturing and healing place. We are also that place that can guide folks on their journey or call them to a faithful way of living. I know that I have found healing and welcome in the sacraments, the traditions, and the people. We might wander, we might stomp our feet when we don't get our way, but she is always there to welcome us back. 

Our St. James mission statement is, "To feed and tend God's sheep, both inside and outside of the church." That mission begins with a welcome. We welcome because we have found a home where we have been fed and tended to. In response, we reach out to others. We don't always get it right, and sometimes it is messy. Christ the Good Shepherd meets us in the messiness of life. May we continue to meet others with that same shepherding and mothering care. 

Fr. John Mark