Baby boomers can recall when Mother's Day meant you wore a red carnation or rose pinned to your Sunday best, signifying that your mother was still living, or a white flower if she wasn't.
Pastors would ask all mothers in the audience to stand while the congregation applauded them. Then the oldest mother would be recognized. The newest mother. The mother with the most children. And that day's sermon was traditionally based on Proverbs 31:10-31 - a passage that praises the wife of noble character, helpmate of her husband, nurturer of children, frugal homemaker.
Fast-forward five decades when 57 percent of women now participate in the work force, and 70 percent of them have children under 18, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. More than 80 percent of the 12 million single-parent families in the country are headed by single mothers, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
And those numbers have affected the sermons of Mother's Day.
Area pastors say their Mother's Day sermons have evolved just like the changing family dynamic. But more importantly, they find it important to affirm all women in their congregation on Mother's Day and be responsive to those who are not mothers.
"For some people, Sunday will be a great and joyous day, and for others it brings sadness," says the Rev. Gerald O'Guinn at Love Fellowship Baptist Churc. "You have to be sensitive to that."
O'Guinn says he has chosen the story of Hannah in 1st Samuel for Sunday's scripture.
"Hannah was barren and prayed for God to give her a son and she was blessed to have Samuel. We'll talk about the power of prayer and a mother who prays for her children," he says.
At Red Bank Baptist Church, Dr. Sam Greer says his Sunday sermon will address issues that all women face.
"One thing we try to do on Mother's Day is understand that one size does not fit all," he says.
"Sometimes there are women in a place of undesired singleness who are not mothers, women who have had a miscarriage, divorce has disrupted motherhood or they may have lost a child to death," he says. "We have every example of that in our church. We are sensitive to those who have lost their mothers and we try to guard against making it a day of worshiping mothers."
Instead, Red Bank Baptist will hold a parent-child dedication and Greer's sermon topic will be praying for the family.
"The series is called 'Prayer: Is There an App for That?' and we're building a prayer app on Sunday. It's seven daily prayers you can pray for your family," he describes.
Silverdale Baptist Church will pray for mothers in attendance, according to church officials, but the message will continue the church's current topical series on reaching out in service, going beyond the norm and not becoming focused on oneself.
Pastors of East Brainerd Church of Christ and Christ United Methodist Church say they'll look at the broad range of female role models besides mom.
"I have, over the years, tried to be very conscious of the fact that not everybody who attends may be a mother or may not have had a good experience with their mother or grew up in a house without a mother," says Chris Barnett of East Brainerd Church of Christ.
"I try to make lessons honor women in general," he continues. "This Sunday, the idea is that, at some point in time, we have all been changed by the women in our lives - whether that may have been a mother, sister, grandmother - and that God has a way of bringing people into our lives at the time we need them."
The Rev. Mark Flynn at Christ United Methodist agrees that discussing the role of mothers in the modern community is not limited to those who have given birth.
"We all know there are quite a few women in our congregations who, while they do not have biological children, have become mothers to a much greater extent than women who gave birth," he explains. "We all have many mothers who care for us and show the gift of mothering. In the Christian church, we celebrate all women as mothers to the children in the church."
Second Presbyterian Church also will highlight the impact made by spiritual role models during its Mother's Day service.
"I'm asking four of our members to share a memory of a woman who has been instrumental in their faith journey," says Diane Stocker, interim pastor at Second Presbyterian. "We are not into celebrating Mother's Day in a traditional way because we know it is often not a joyous day for women who have lost a child, who could not bear a child or who have recently lost their own mother."
Youth in the downtown church will hold places of leadership in the morning service and Stocker says they will pray for "mothers of all descriptions, seeking to be very inclusive of what that day means to a wide spectrum of women."
Other churches choose to focus on parenting in general terms instead of emphasizing the maternal parent.
"I'm going to speak to all parents, talking about passing along our faith to our children," says the Rev. Alan Rogers at New Salem Baptist Church. "Motherhood and fatherhood need to be valued and treasured, and we want to take advantage of the occasion to focus on the importance of good parenting."
The Rev. Ternae Jordan at Mount Canaan Baptist Church says: "Mothers are the one thing all of us have in common."
"Had there not been mothers, there would never have been 'us.' God's plan originated through mothers," he says. "I am a believer in Romans 8:28 - that all things work together for good for those who love the Lord. So I try to share that, even if you had a negative experience, those things you've learned from them allow God to shape you into the person you should be. And I always challenge mothers to realize they are first teachers with their children."
Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.