Mother’s Day– a Methodist Invention

Last updated on: May 10, 2015 at 2:02 pm by Ben Witherington

Mother’s Day– a Methodist Invention 2015-05-10T14:02:02-04:00 Ben Witherington

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Anna Marie Jarvis was in many ways a remarkable woman. Born near the end of the Civil War (in 1864), she grew up in a staunch Methodist Episcopal family in West Virginia, born in Webster, and later in childhood living in Grafton. One of 13 children, of which four survived to adulthood, her life revolved around church and her mother, to whom she was utterly devoted. Anna Jarvis, like many Methodist women after the Civil War was an activist in both her Andrew ME Church, and in the community, and founded not only Mother’s Day, but Mother’s Day work clubs for women. She felt called to various kinds of ministries and with the encouragement of her mother she attended Augusta Female Seminary (YES, there was such a school) in Staunton Virginia, a school which later became Mary Baldwin College. She returned home to work in both the public school system in Grafton and in her church. Already, when she was just twelve, God planted a seed in her heart about creating a mother’s day celebration, based on a Sunday School lesson she read in 1876. On that day she is reported to have said…. “I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorial mothers day commemorating her for the matchless service she renders to humanity in every field of life. She is entitled to it.” Little did she know that later in life, she would be the one God would use to make sure that happened.

On May 10th 1908, exactly 107 years ago today, three years after her mother had passed away, Anna held a memorial service at Andrews ME Church to honor her mother and the sacrifices of all mothers. The following events are told this way on Wiki—

“In the ensuing years, Anna Jarvis embarked upon a campaign to make “Mother’s Day” a recognized holiday. She spent a significant amount of time writing to countless business executives, church groups, and politicians at the state and national level to promote the commemorative day. Jarvis was singularly dedicated throughout this process, resigning her position at Fidelity Mutual and incorporating the Mother’s Day International Association (MDIA) in 1912 to encourage national and international recognition of the day. During her campaign, the holiday spread throughout every U.S. state and numerous foreign countries, including Canada, Mexico, China, Japan, and throughout South America and Africa. After her persistent efforts, Mother’s Day was finally proclaimed a national holiday in 1914 by President Woodrow Wilson.

Ironically Anna Jarvis spent so much time making sure mothers got honored with their own day in the calendar, that she herself never became a mother, having never married. She provides us with a wonderful example however of what Jesus meant when he said ‘some have made themselves celibate for the sake of the Kingdom’ (Mt. 19), like her Lord Jesus himself.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

May 10, 2015

Alister McGrath's C.S. Lewis: A Life--- Part Eight

Next Post

May 10, 2015 A.D. The Bible Continues-- Episode Six

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz