This last Sunday was Mother’s Day, and we celebrated it in the RE classes with a lesson about Julia Ward Howe. Julia was Unitarian and the author of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. She was also a peace advocate, and issued the Mother’s Day Proclamation of 1870, calling for mother’s around the world to come together and plan a path toward peace. This was the original meaning of Mother’s Day, before it became the holiday that we know today (although there is nothing wrong with honoring mothers, in my opinion).
Julia’s Voice is a website bringing together information about peace events held on Mother’s Day, in honor of Julia Ward Howe.