“Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Say firmly: “We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies,
RESPONSIVE READING Mother’s Day Proclamation by Julia Ward HoweĪrise, all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be of water or of tears! Narrator: Our Unitarian Universalist Association has seen fit to include Julia’s proclamation in our hymnbook as a responsive reading. The little document, which I drew up in the heat of my enthusiasm, implored women, all the world over, to awake to the knowledge of the sacred right vested in them as mothers to protect the human life, which costs them so many pangs. The august dignity of motherhood and its terrible responsibilities now appeared to me in a new aspect, and I could think of no better way of expressing my sense of these than that of sending forth an appeal to womanhood throughout the world, which I then and there composed. The question forced itself upon me, “Why do not the mothers of mankind interfere in these matters, to prevent the waste of that human life of which they alone bear and know the cost?” I had never thought of this before. It seemed to me a return to barbarism, the issue having been one which might easily have been settled without bloodshed. I was visited by a sudden feeling of the cruel and unnecessary character of the contest. Best know as the author of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” Julia was a well-known lecturer and writer, advocating for abolition and women’s rights. Reading about this war awakened the consciousness of Unitarian Julia Ward Howe.
Only five years later, the Franco-Prussian War devastated much of Europe. In the 19th century, the terrible carnage of the American Civil War left women all over that country grieving the loss of life and wondering if there wasn’t some other way to resolve conflicts. We welcome you to this service today as we invite our foremothers to share their wisdom to help us join hands around the world and make peace. Narrator: Today we call forth the spirits of Unitarian and Universalist women of the past who worked for peace. And may it shine brightly in our lives as a beacon for future generations. May it empower us to act boldly for justice in the present world. Narrator: A wise person once said, “Take from the past not its ashes, but it’s fire.” Today we kindle this flame knowing that our presence forms a bridge between the past and the future.Ĭongregation: May the flame we light in our hearts today draw strength from the best of our liberal religious heritage. We’ve set her words to music and invite you to sing it now-”Songs for the People.” She wrote the opening words shortly after the Civil War and the words to our opening hymn toward the end of the 19th century. Our service today opens with the words of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, 19th century advocate for abolition and women’s rights. OPENING HYMN “Songs for the People” words by Frances EW Harper OPENING WORDS “Welcome Peace!” by Frances EW Harper Lovers of our own lands, we are citizens of the world. General Assembly 2002, Quebec City, Quebec Unitarian Universalist Women’s Heritage Society JOINING HANDS AROUND THE WORLD-WOMEN MAKING PEACE
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