The Fourth Sunday of Lent is referred to as Refreshment Sunday, when the discipline of the season may be relaxed, but just for the day!  It is probably better known as Mothering Sunday, when we reflect upon the 'nurture' we receive from Holy Mother Church. 

It is the Sunday when we think also of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, the Mother of God, who gives us a wonderful example of care and love.  Her acceptance of God's invitation to bear His son was only the beginning of her care, which culminated in her receiving His body; His dead body from the cross. 

At All Saints' we try to emulate the kind of sacrifice, love and care as seen in Our Lady, Mary.  We care for all our people, from birth until death; praying, serving and raising them up, from poverty and fear, from sadness and despair.

Our gift of flowers or plants on Mothering Sunday is but a small token of our sharing of life.   In a Service infused with prayer, we invoke the prayers of all those who have shared in the 'nurture' of faith in our 'holy space', our holy place.  They are received by those who come, and delivered to those who do not, those who live in our Almshouses, the sick and the lonely, as a sign of our enduring love and commitment as God's people in this place.