The Radical Religious History Of Mothers Day

May 12, 2013 Subscribe · Forward The Radical History Of Mothers Day At first glance, Mother's Day appears a quaint and conservative holiday, a sort of greeting card moment, honoring 1950s values, a historical throw back to old-fashioned notions of hearth and home. Let's correct that impression by saying: Happy Radical Mother's Day. In May 1907, Anna Jarvis, a member of a Methodist congregation in Grafton, West Virginia, passed out 500 white carnations in church to commemorate the life of her mother. One year later, the same Methodist church created a special service to honor mothers. Many progressive and liberal Christian organizations--like the YMCA and the World Sunday School Association--picked up the cause and lobbied Congress to make Mother's Day a national holiday. And, in 1914, Democratic President Woodrow Wilson made it official and signed Mother's Day into law. Thus began the modern celebration of Mother's Day in the United States.  Continue reading... Affirming All Women In Church On Mother's Day Pope Francis Names Hundreds Of New Saints Mothering With Chocolate LOOK: Praying 'Women Of The Wall' Attacked By Thousands Of Ultra-Orthodox Coptic And Catholic Popes Meet At Vatican Woman Converts After Seeing 'Book Of Mormon' Woman Converts After Seeing 'Book Of Mormon' The Radical History Of Mothers Day The Radical History Of Mothers Day The Clergy: Titles And Responsibilities LOOK: Praying 'Women Of The Wall' Attacked By Thousands Of Ultra-Orthodox RABBI MARC SCHNEIER Shavuot and the Chosen Shavuot, holiday commemorates revelation at Sinai when the Jews were chosen by God to receive the Ten Commandments, will commence Tuesday evening. This idea, that the Jews are the chosen people, is one of the most misunderstood concepts in history. Continue reading... JONATHAN PATZ Curbing Fossils Fuels to Power a Public Health Revolution The simple truth is that our antiquated energy policies, along with other industrialized nations, are disrupting the planet's climate and threating many species, including our own. But much of our economy is dependent on fossil fuels. Continue reading... KHALED A. BEYDOUN What if Jason Collins Was a Muslim? "Gay and Muslim American," for both Muslim and non-Muslim Americans, reads like an oxymoron. Yet, is a largely harmonized yet hidden identity that characterizes the experience of many Muslim American men and women. Continue reading... RYAN THOMAS NEACE Christian Masculinity, the WWF and Unbelonging "Imagine 10,000 men, fathers, sons, brothers and Christ-followers, coming together to worship God and learn more about the life of true adventure He intends for us as men." That's an actual description of one such event. If you're like me, you're very, very nervous to read any further. Continue reading... ALAN JONES Reflections On Pakistan From A Recent Visitor There is overwhelming anti-American feeling revealed in the polls in Pakistan (it wasn't always so) Why? There are deep problems of perception that have been internalized. Continue reading... Received this from a friend? Sign up for alerts from The Huffington Post here. Unsubscribe here. Huffington Post, 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003