Mother of the Year in Australia this year is Leila Abdullah, the Oatlands mum who suffered the loss of three of her children in a horrific incident in which a drunk and drugged driver drove into the children and their cousins as they walked on the footpath.

She is a very deserving winner, not only for her willingness to forgive the driver, but for the love and concern she showed for those around her even as she suffered unimaginable grief. Clearly, her faith supported her through this and continues to help her, but nothing can take away from the terrible loss of most of her family.

Being a mum is hard at the best of times and in a world in which some in our society want to blur the boundaries between mums and dads, it remains an important part of the lives of all children. As a Christian school, we hold to the idea of a mother and a father as set out in the story of origins in the early part of the book of Genesis. Mothers have played important and significant roles in the unfolding story of God culminating in Mary, the mother of Jesus.

It was great to see so many of our school mum’s who braved torrential rain to gather together last week to celebrate being a mother. The Mother’s Day stall is outstanding and thanks to the mums who worked hard to put that together too. I trust that this Mother’s Day, our mothers have been honoured and respected for the important role they play in the lives of our children and the vital role they play in our society in balancing out the male role and perspective.

We do live in a changing society and the adoption of same-sex marriage has impacted our traditional understanding of family and the role of mothers and fathers. Whatever our particular view of this, it is important we honour and maintain respect for those who play a significant part in raising children.

I trust that this weekend, in spite of the COVID restrictions, your family are able to honour and celebrate your mothers. Mary, the mother of Jesus is a great example to us of a loving and faithful mother who is recorded as standing by her son, even as He hung on the Cross. May we be those who stand by our mothers, loving and honouring them.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Phillip Nash