From Where I Stand: Father's Day

Naturally, it was Mother’s Day that came first, the brainchild of Julia Ward Howe, and later, Anna Jarvis in Grafton, West Virginia. The first Father’s Day was also celebrated in the Mountain State on July 5, 1908. To promote male parenting, Mrs. Grace Golden Clayton organized a community event following the Monongah mining disaster in which 210 dads perished. Both observances fall on Sundays, causing us to ponder the religious aspects of parenting and  what the Bible describes as “natural affection.” Throughout both testaments of the Bible, God has emphasized the parental duty to indoctrinate children in the ways of his faith, to give them a firm foundation of virtue and conviction, understanding that as they mature, their free will must be exercised to follow the path of belief or abandon it. To refuse to teach one’s children is to give the tempter a head start. As Christians and Americans celebrate Father’s Day, it is likewise important to remember that every first day of every week has special significance to our Father in Heaven, whose son died upon a cross for us on that day. It should be a day of contemplation, worship, and communication, borne out of the heart, even without the regulatory focus of the Sabbath.