Music for Sunday, 11th March: Lent 4 (Mothering Sunday), Year B

There’s a choice of two lots of lectionary readings in Common Worship this Sunday, depending on where you want your focus to be; but if you’re in England it’s pretty likely that mothers or mothering will be the theme in some way or other.

This is a theme that’s not easy for everyone, and which can bring out strong feelings. These are not neatly or easily sidestepped, but it can help, I think, to focus on mothering more than on mothers, and on the mothering qualities of God.

‘Mothering God, You Gave Me Birth’ is an ideal hymn text for this, and the setting of it by Carolyn Jennings is both simple enough to be used as a congregational hymn in some contexts, and lyrical enough to stand as a simple choir anthem in others. The words, by Jean Janzen, are an adaptation of words by Julian of Norwich, so this is really a collaboration between three women.

Listen on YouTube.

The hymn is in the following hymnals, according to hymnary.org:
Evangelical Lutheran Worship #735
Glory to God: the Presbyterian Hymnal #7
With One Voice #769

If you don’t have any of those, though, it’s available to buy (in an arrangement by Zebulon Highben) from JW Pepper.

Many thanks to Jo Kershaw for pointing this one out.