Mother’s Day a time for grieving, too

BOSTON. Yesterday, countless mothers were showered with gifts and honored for all they do. Today, those in pain each Mother’s Day will get a chance to let it all out.

Ten years after it was first conducted in the wake of rising homicide rates, the Mother’s Day Monday Interfaith Service will take place tonight at Trinity Church, drawing mothers from throughout the area to remember lost children.

“On Mother’s Day there will be a lot of mothers heralded and uplifted and rejoicing with their families,” said Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, who helped organize the event in 1998 and again this year. “But there is a growing number of mothers for whom today is going to be a sad day.”

One of those mothers is Kim Odom of Dorchester, whose 13-year-old son was gunned down walking home from a park last fall. While Odom has been a symbol of strength in the wake of the boy’s death it’s her first Mother’s Day since the tragedy.

ilkerson, a mother of two, feels the day may offer Odom a whole new challenge, with tonight offering a whole new start.

“This is an opportunity for them to come into church and cry,” Wilkerson said. “It’s OK to be sad.”