Although Mother's Day is not...
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Although Mother's Day is not recognized on most liturgical calendars, many parishioners look for a message on that day that points to motherhood as a metaphor for God's love. A pastor nominating committee had been formed in a certain church to look for a new minister. To be fair, they decided to ask the same questions to every candidate. But when they got around to Nancy, her question each time was "Do you preach Mother's Day sermons?" For her, that is what made or broke each of the candidates. After several interviews, the committee contacted one of the candidates whom they were especially impressed with and asked him to send an audio tape of some of his sermons. And sure enough, the first sermon on the tape that he sent was his version of a Mother's Day sermon. But it was not exactly what Nancy had in mind. She was looking for something warm and touching. But these words did not exactly describe that sermon. In graphic detail, that minister described the birth process. He went into great detail and enormous elaboration, talking all about the pain and blood and guts that are involved in delivery. As the committee listened to the tape, some were getting very red faces, while others were growing a bit pale. After a while, the chair of our committee turned the tape off, and almost in unison they said: "Next candidate." -- Bowen
