The Army and Navy Hymnal/Orders of Worship/Mother's Day

X. Mother's Day

(Mother's Day is observed the second Sunday in May)

(This service also commemorates Father's Day and the Home)

Instrumental Prelude
The White Carnation
It is suggested that a white carnation be worn by everyone. It is the memory flower, symbolic of motherhood; its whiteness stands for purity, its form for beauty, its fragrance for love, its universality for charity, its hardihood for fidelity.

Leader:
So here's to the white carnation,
Wear it on Mother's Day;
Flower that blooms for mother,
Winsome, gallant, and gay.
Flower of perfect sweetness,
Flower for hut and hall,
Here's to the white carnation,
And to mother our best of all.

Margaret E. Sangster

Hymn No. 48 For the Beauty of the Earth (Standing)
For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.

or

 Hymn No. 182 Happy Home
O happy home, where thou art loved the dearest,
Thou loving friend and Saviour of our race,
And where among the guests there never cometh
One who can hold such high and honored place.

O happy home, where each one serves thee, lowly,
Whatever his appointed work may be,
Till every common task seems great and holy,
When it is done, Lord, as unto thee.

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven
hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

The glory, for ever. Amen.

Hymn Response ( Verse three, No. 48 )
For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth, and friends above,
For all gentle thoughts and mild,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise. Amen.

The Messages of Five Govecnors to Their States on Mother's Day (Unison)

I hope that every man and woman, boy and girl, in our state may value at its own supreme worth the counsel,the self-sacrifice,and the unfailing love which only a devoted mother can give.

Show reverence and respect for the best friend that God ever gave us Mother.
No state is greater than its Mothers.
The very word " Mother" is a synonym for reverence. In all nature there is nothing so tender and loving and joyous as the relationship between mother and child.

I respectfully request our citizens generally throughout the state to observe the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. If the day can be spent, at least in part, in her presence, make it one of great comfort to her by such ministrations as the heart of a true man will dictate. If she is living elsewhere, write her a letter full of cheer and confession of love. If she is held in the great beyond, do some deed of beneficence in her name that will cheer the life of another.

Responsive Reading
All:
Honor thy father and they mother that thy days may be long in
the land which the lord thy god giveth thee.
Leader:
My son, hear the instruction of thy father and forsake not the teaching of thy mother.
I thank God, having been reminded of the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice.
Hear the words of King Lemuel concerning a woman of the Bible:
Assembly
Strength and dignity are her clothing;
She stretcheth forth her hand to the poor;
She openeth her mouth with wisdom;
And the law of kindness is on her tongue.
Her children rise up and call her blessed ;
Her husband also, and he praiseth her, saying:
Many daughters have done worthily,
But thou excelleth them all.

(Seated)

Prayer
Lord Jesus, thou hast known
A mother's love and tender care,
And thou wilt hear while for my own mother most dear
I make this Sabbath prayer.
Protect her life, I pray,
Who gave the gift of life to me;

And may she know, from day to day, the deepening glow
Of joy that comes from thee.
I cannot pay my debt
For all the love that she has given;
But thou, love's Lord, wilt not forget her due reward,
Bless her in earth and heaven. Henry Van Dyke

Messages of Five Great Lovers of Mothers
The love of a mother is never exhausted,
It never changes, it never tires.
It endures through all; in good repute, in bad repute, in the face of the world's condemnation,
A mother's love Still lives On. Washington Irving

All mothers are rich when they love their children.
There are no poor mothers, no ugly ones, no old ones.
Their love is always the most beautiful of the Joys.
And when they seem most sad, it needs but a kiss which they receive or give to turn all their tears into stars in the depths of their eyes. Maurice Maeterlinck

The happiest part of my happy life has been my mother, and with God's help she will be more to me than ever. Phillips Brooks

Even He that died for us upon the Cross, in the last hour, in the unutterable agony of death, was mindful of his mother, as if to teach us that this holy love should be our last worldly thought. Henry W. Longfellow

All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother. Abraham Lincoln

Faith of Our Fathers ( Music 'St. Catherine,' No. 172 )

Faith of our fathers, living still
In spite of dungeon, fire and sword,
O how our hearts beat high with joy
Whene'er we hear that glorious word.
Faith of our fathers, holy faith,
We will be true to thee till death. Amen.

Pledge of Fatherhood
We are seventy strong,
And we will stand with thee
To keep the door of the house of our God.
To bring in our sons in their young manhood,
And to stand with them in worship,
And to lead them forth in service
For the Lord, our God.

The Mother's Love (Music 'Waltham' No. 50 )
You struggled blindly for my soul
And wept for me such bitter tears
That through your faith my faith grew whole
And fearless of the coming years.

For in the path of doubt and dread
You would not let me walk alone,
But prayed the prayers I left unsaid
And sought the God I did disown.

You gave to me no word of blame
But wrapped me in your love's belief,
Dear love, that burnt my sin like flame,
And left me worthy of your grief. Hester I. Radford