Mother’s Day was celebrated at Bethany Presbyterian Church years before it was officially established by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914. 

Bethany Sunday School began celebrating Mother’s Day annually in 1908.  Pictured here is a Bethany church bulletin from 1911 that honored our founder’s mother, Elizabeth Wanamaker (1818-1881). 

We can thank Anna Jarvis for conceiving of Mother’s Day in 1905 as a way to memorialize her own mother.  By 1907 she began writing letters to people of influence with the vision of inspiring a nation to honor the sacrifices mothers make for their children.  Her passion caught the attention of our very own John Wanamaker (1838-1922) and in fact gained financial backing and support from him. In May 1910 Anna Jarvis and the Mayor of Philadelphia addressed a large audience of mothers who gathered in the Egyptian Hall auditorium at the Wanamaker’s Department store across from City Hall. Miss Jarvis went on to campaign in Congress for establishing a national holiday on the second Sunday in May.

At that time there were yet 18 states celebrating Mothers Day.  Four years later, in 1914, it was made official by President Wilson who signed it into law. 

Happy Mother’s Day!