O God, Mother and Father to us all, who in love has made us, and through love has kept us, and who by love would make us perfect… (From a corporate prayer of confession, Riverside Church, New York City, 1983). In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, One God, Mother of us all. (From a benediction, Dumbarton United Methodist Church, Washington, D.C., 1983). The Word is everything to the child, both father and mother, teacher and nurse. … The nutriment is the milk of the Father, and the Word alone supplies us children with the milk of love, and only those who suck at this breast are truly happy. For this reason, seeking is called sucking; to those infants who seek the Word, the Father's loving breasts supply milk. (Clement of Alexandria, ca. 180 A.D.)