Mothers-in-War

For many, Mothering Sunday is filled with flowers, fondness and family. However, for many others, in our war-ravaged world, calm and care are overshadowed by conflict and chaos. Many mothers this morning have woken not to flora but to fear - the norm of school runs and shopping lists gives way to sirens and sorrow.

Mothers in times of war carry a heavy load, for they comfort the crying and cradle the dying. In Gaza, mothers struggle to find food, medical care, and safety for their children, while displacement and the collapse of healthcare have made pregnancy and childbirth increasingly dangerous (1). We read of 160 graves dug after a girls' school was destroyed in Minab, Iran - and no one accepts blame or responsibility (2). In Ukraine, despite the terror of missiles and air raids, mothers continue to bring new life into the world as an act of resilience and hope (3). Motherhood in such places becomes an act of quiet bravery - a daily declaration that love is stronger than fear and hope is stronger than despair.

Mothering Sunday therefore becomes a time for both celebration and lamentation. We give thanks for the joys and we pray for those who sorrow – in war, in loss, in hopes unrealised. Through it all, God identifies with the mother, saying, “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.” (Isaiah 66:13) In every land and language, God whispers tenderness to the troubled.

Today, let us express both gratitude and grief – joining with those who laugh and those who lament – may celebration be marked with compassion – for mothers near and dear, for mothers-in-law and all mothers-in-war.

Revd Michael Hogg

1. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/14/gaza-war-fall-in-births-reproductive-violence
2. www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c98qpz144nvo
3. https://nypost.com/2026/03/06/world-news/ukrainian-moms-defy-putin-by-bringing-new-life-into-a-nation-at-war)