Dear Friends,

This weekend we reach the fourth Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday in which we are reminded to "rejoice" in the midst of our Lenten journey. As it is Mothering Sunday, our gospel reading tells of Mary hearing about what being the mother of Jesus will bring. Whilst Mary has often been idealised through Christian tradition, the experiences recorded in the gospels show us a woman who knew the reality of the joys and sorrows of mothering and the presence of God upholding her in it all. "My spirit has rejoiced in God", she sings in her Magnificat, remembering God's covenant to the humble and the poor. We know that all around the world it is women, mothers and children that often bear the brunt of injustice and poverty, of war and disaster and oppression. Let us pray for transformation in all those places where women suffer disproportionately, and where particular oppression is targeted towards them. Let us give thanks for all those places and situations where mothers together have turned communities from violence and destruction towards new hope and creative activity.

God bless

Samantha