Make your plans- Grandparents Day is September 8, 2013
Did you know there is a “Grandparents Day”? Yes, the first Sunday after Labor Day was proclaimed by President Jimmy Carter in 1978 to be “Grandparents Day.” Are you surprised this was NOT a decision made by Hallmark Cards? Actually, this day was designated to honor grandparents due to years of hard work by a West Virginian grandmother named Marian McQuade. Believing that it is important for children to connect with the elderly, Mrs. McQuade lobbied her congressmen to set aside a day once a year to bring the generations together. It took years but eventually the idea got to the White House.
Marian McQuade did not see this day as “belonging” to grandparents. Instead she saw it as a day of celebration involving the whole family, a day to connect the generations. She said,
“It is just as much a day to honor grandparents as it is a day for grandparents themselves to confirm their loving legacy to the generation that follow them.”
A few years ago, Lillian Penner of Christian Grandparenting Network decided to build on this nationally recognized day and call all grandparents to seriously pray for their families on this day. Across the United States grandparents gather in churches or homes to stand in the gap for the next generations. Cavin Harper, founder of Christian Grandparenting Network, states that “perhaps at no other time in our history has a call to prayer been as critical for the body of Christ as it is today.” Ms. Penner challenges each of us to pray passionately for our families — especially on “Grandparents Day.”
September 8th is Grandparents Day for 2013. Won’t you join many other grandparents across the United States that day and fall to your knees on behalf of the next generations? Join the challenge! Gather your fellow grandparents and prayerfully protect the hearts and minds of our children and grandchildren that they may walk in the truth.
Dear Catherine: I so enjoyed your “Reminder” of Grandparents Day on Sept 8th and I forwarded it to all our children. Please send it out again on Sept 2nd as another “reminder”. Great history lesson! Thanks so much for all you do to promote grandparents. It’s a challenge! Lee
Hi, Lee! Thanks for taking the time to read my little blog on “Grandparents Day”! And thanks for your comment, too! May I encourage you to not only send this info to your children but also to your fellow grandparent friends. The main point is that this can be a day for grandparents to take the time to stand in the gap for their families and pray (!). It’s not just a day to recognize this older generation. But even more powerful is for this day to be a time for grandparents to be intentional and fall to their knees on behalf of their families!