Remind us of resurrection
Hard walks and raging tears can be a Psalm
Welcome to the Mothering Spirit newsletter! Each Saturday morning, you’ll receive a round-up of the week’s posts—perfect for your weekend reading.
This week on Mothering Spirit
Amber Haines offers an unforgettable story that sears at the heart of parenting today. An essay that deserves to be read in one breathless swoop from start to finish, too powerful to quote in a simple excerpt. Trust us.
Read the whole thing here: Ferocious Motherlove.
Perfect for this week and the day that reminds us we are all “mere dust and yet more”: A Mother’s Prayer for Ash Wednesday.
Psst: if Lent is new for you, here’s a quick intro video for a great overview.
Every time we check the news, it feels like another tragedy or trauma is unfolding. When it’s all too much, here are prayers for parenting in impossible times. Racism, war, violence, even a blessing for calling your representatives. Our wise writers have gentle words for the hardest moments.
Find them all here.
Beauty from ashes
If you’ve never seen Greg Miller’s photography, you’re in for a treat. He’s been photographing New Yorkers on Ash Wednesday for over 20 years, and the portraits of adults and children alike are incredible.
Let’s get together
Our first Mothering Spirit gathering is coming next weekend! We heard loud and clear from our writers and patrons that they want to connect with other moms around meaningful conversations on faith, so we’re excited to help bring that dream to life.
Join us on Sunday, March 5th, from 7:15-8:30 pm CT on Zoom, for a virtual gathering of our writers and patrons. (You can become a patron for only $2 to check it out.)
This month's topic will be COMMUNITY. Where have we found it in motherhood? How could we help build it? Has the church offered community for us as parents, or if not, what do we dream our local church could offer? How could Mothering Spirit to help foster community—both online and in person?
We'd love to have you become a patron and join us next Sunday night to unwind and connect: a perfect Sabbath way to start the week. Details here!
From the archives
“A family filed down the aisle in front of me. In the mother's arms was a tiny girl with blond curls. She, too, was marked with dark ash. What did her mother see when she looked down at the sweet face smeared with soot? A reminder of her child's mortality? Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
Why do so many people come back to church this night? Because Ash Wednesday helps us make sense of life's fragility. We ritualize our own mortality to remind us to turn from sin to life-giving love.
Ash Wednesday gathers us together as a church and reminds us that our community cares about the deepest realities of our lives. It gently leads us to the edge of our fears and shows us a way to live through the suffering. It shakes us loose from the clench of loss and speaks truth of rising after dying.”
A final word for reflection
“Parenting, like life, is heartbreak followed by reality, followed by love, followed by loneliness, followed by despair, followed by jokes, followed by exhaustion. If this is what you are experiencing, you are doing it right. If you are returning over and over again to watch the simple miracle of growth, you are doing it right.”
(Carvell Wallace, “Parenting Black Teens Through Protest and Pandemic”)