Ash Wednesday
Worship
From Life To Life
Worship Services For Lent and Easter
Order of Worship
The Gathering (We gather in an informal candlelit room in a circle around a container where we can light a fire.)
Words Of Focus On The Lenten Season
(Read quietly by one or several of the persons attending)
Greeting:
L: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
P: AND ALSO WITH YOU.
L: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
P: BLESS THE LORD, O MY SOUL, AND FORGET NOT ALL HIS BENEFITS.
L: Who forgives all our sins, and heals all our infirmities:
P: WHO REDEEMS OUR LIFE FROM THE GRAVE, AND CROWNS US WITH MERCY AND LOVING KINDNESS.
Opening Prayer:
L: Most holy God, your son came to save sinners; we come to this season of repentance, confessing our unworthiness, asking for new and honest hearts and the healing power of your forgiveness.
P: GRANT THIS THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, OUR LORD. AMEN
A Reading From Psalm 51:142
Response:
L: Cry, and God will answer.
P: CALL, AND THE LORD WILL SAY, "I AM HERE."
L: If you do away with the yoke, the clenched fist, the wicked word; if you give your bread to the hungry, and help the oppressed:
P: CALL, AND THE LORD WILL SAY, "I AM HERE."
L: Your light will rise in the darkness, and your shadows be. come like noon. The Lord will always guide you, giving relief in desert places.
P: CRY, AND THE LORD WILL ANSWER. CALL, AND GOD WILL SAY, "I AM HERE."
The Gospel Reading From Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Response:
L: May God have mercy upon us!
P: FOR WE KNOW OUR TRANSGRESSIONS, AND OUR SINS ARE EVER BEFORE US.
L: Behold, God desires truth in our innermost being.
P: MAY GOD THEREFORE PURGE US, WASH US, AND FILL US WITHIN.
Message: Invitation To The Observance Of Lenten Discipline
Time Of Silence And Meditation
The Bringing Forth Of Our Search Papers For Burning
The Burning
Thanksgiving Over The Ashes:
L: The Lord be with you.
P: AND ALSO WITH YOU.
L: Let us pray: Almighty God, you have created us out of the dust of the earth; grant that these ashes may be to us a sign of our mortality and penitence, so that we may remember that only by your gracious gift are we given everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
P: AMEN
The Imposition of Ashes: (Pastor uses the ashes from the burned papers to place the cross on the forehead of each person gathered.) As ashes are placed on each individual, the following is said:
Pastor:
Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Repent and believe the Gospel.
EACH: AMEN
Absolution:
L: In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
P: IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, YOU ARE FORGIVEN!
L: Rejoicing in the fellowship of all the Saints, let us commend ourselves, one another, and our whole life to Christ, our Lord.
P: TO YOU, WE DEDICATE OURSELVES, O LORD! AMEN
The Peace:
L: The peace of the Lord be with you all.
P: THE PEACE OF THE LORD BE WITH YOU. AMEN
All may depart in quietness.
Ash Wednesday
Words Of Focus
Note: Signs have been posted at the entry asking all to enter in silence.
The words offocus may be read by one person, but it is more effective if each paragraph is read by a djfferent voice:
Genesis 3:19 gives us these words, "For dust you are, and to dust you shall return."
The room is darkened. We gather in quietness. We anticipate the ashes on our forehead and we wonder why it is that we have come here on this dark night.
Maybe it is because Lent is a time when we can be truly honest. We don't need to pretend. We don't need to cover up our feelings. We can let our pain be anguish, our aloneness be loneliness, our sadness be grief. There is something satisfying about entering into the suffering of Jesus.
When we go into the desert with him, we can feel the dryness of our lips, the parched feeling in our throats, the sun burning on our cheeks. We can hear the voice of the tempter and, knowing that it is the same voice that our Lord once heard, we look to Christ for strength.
As we solemnly turn our thoughts to prayer, we can see Jesus in the darkness of the Garden of Gethsemane, alone, as his disciples slept, and we know that he understands all anguish that has been caused by human rejection.
And when we think of his last days, the scourging, the crown of thorns, the slaps to the face, the purple robe, the mocking, and the shouts of "Crucify him," "Crucify him," and then his death on the cross, our own distress fades in the wretchedness of his suffering.
Oh Jesus, our Jesus! Your agony is healing balm for our struggles!
Lent: A time for healing! A time to give up our pain! A time of darkness that points us to the one true light.
1 Peter 2:22: "For it is by his wounds that you have been healed."
Ash Wednesday Message
Invitation To The
Observance Of Lenten Discipline
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ: Christians have always observed with great devotion the days of our Lord's passion and resurrection. It became a custom of the church to prepare for Easter by a season of penitence, fasting, and prayer. This season of forty days provided a time in which converts to the faith were prepared for baptism into the body of Christ. It was also a time when persons who had committed serious sins and had been separated from the community of faith were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness and restored into the fellowship of the community of the church. Even today the whole congregation is reminded of the mercy and forgiveness proclaimed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the need for all of us to renew our baptismal faith.
The central congregational action for us then is to examine our conscience: to search out particular sins, characteristics, or habits in our life that are hurtful or unjust. Not that this is any special kind of list, but rather, let the following be your starting point of thought:
-What have I done or said lately that makes me feel guilty or ashamed?
-How has selfishness interfered with my relationship with God, and with others?
-Of whom have I felt envious or jealous?
-How has false pride ruled my life?
-Of whom have I been intolerant?
-How have I been dealing with my anger?
-What resentments am I holding onto?
-Have I been feeling sorry for myself and expecting others to jump to my way of thinking?
-Have I been touchy, irritable, or had my feelings hurt very easily?
-What have I done that has been dishonest?
-What have I said that is dishonest?
-Am I careful not to start or pass on any rumors or gossip?
-Have I allowed fear to rule my life?
-What amends do I need to make?
You will be asked to write a word or two on a piece of paper which represents what it is that you wish to place before the Lord. You will then be asked to place that piece of paper in a common dish for burning in community with other believers. As we watch them burn away together, I pray that you will find new strength from God.
After the burning we will ask God to bless the ashes, and they will be placed as a cross either on your forehead or on your hand as a remembrance of the power of God's grace to restore and renew us as Christians.
I invite you now, in the name of the Lord, to observe Holy Lent by self-examination, penitence, prayer, fasting and alms-giving; and by reading and meditating on the Word of God. (Small pieces of colored paper and pencils are passed around the circle.)
To make a right beginning, and as a mark of our mortality, let us bow our heads and silently seek God to guide each one of us.
(Silent Prayer)
As you are led, write your words on the paper and bring them to the center and place them in a pile to be burned.
The Gathering (We gather in an informal candlelit room in a circle around a container where we can light a fire.)
Words Of Focus On The Lenten Season
(Read quietly by one or several of the persons attending)
Greeting:
L: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
P: AND ALSO WITH YOU.
L: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
P: BLESS THE LORD, O MY SOUL, AND FORGET NOT ALL HIS BENEFITS.
L: Who forgives all our sins, and heals all our infirmities:
P: WHO REDEEMS OUR LIFE FROM THE GRAVE, AND CROWNS US WITH MERCY AND LOVING KINDNESS.
Opening Prayer:
L: Most holy God, your son came to save sinners; we come to this season of repentance, confessing our unworthiness, asking for new and honest hearts and the healing power of your forgiveness.
P: GRANT THIS THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, OUR LORD. AMEN
A Reading From Psalm 51:142
Response:
L: Cry, and God will answer.
P: CALL, AND THE LORD WILL SAY, "I AM HERE."
L: If you do away with the yoke, the clenched fist, the wicked word; if you give your bread to the hungry, and help the oppressed:
P: CALL, AND THE LORD WILL SAY, "I AM HERE."
L: Your light will rise in the darkness, and your shadows be. come like noon. The Lord will always guide you, giving relief in desert places.
P: CRY, AND THE LORD WILL ANSWER. CALL, AND GOD WILL SAY, "I AM HERE."
The Gospel Reading From Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Response:
L: May God have mercy upon us!
P: FOR WE KNOW OUR TRANSGRESSIONS, AND OUR SINS ARE EVER BEFORE US.
L: Behold, God desires truth in our innermost being.
P: MAY GOD THEREFORE PURGE US, WASH US, AND FILL US WITHIN.
Message: Invitation To The Observance Of Lenten Discipline
Time Of Silence And Meditation
The Bringing Forth Of Our Search Papers For Burning
The Burning
Thanksgiving Over The Ashes:
L: The Lord be with you.
P: AND ALSO WITH YOU.
L: Let us pray: Almighty God, you have created us out of the dust of the earth; grant that these ashes may be to us a sign of our mortality and penitence, so that we may remember that only by your gracious gift are we given everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
P: AMEN
The Imposition of Ashes: (Pastor uses the ashes from the burned papers to place the cross on the forehead of each person gathered.) As ashes are placed on each individual, the following is said:
Pastor:
Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Repent and believe the Gospel.
EACH: AMEN
Absolution:
L: In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
P: IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, YOU ARE FORGIVEN!
L: Rejoicing in the fellowship of all the Saints, let us commend ourselves, one another, and our whole life to Christ, our Lord.
P: TO YOU, WE DEDICATE OURSELVES, O LORD! AMEN
The Peace:
L: The peace of the Lord be with you all.
P: THE PEACE OF THE LORD BE WITH YOU. AMEN
All may depart in quietness.
Ash Wednesday
Words Of Focus
Note: Signs have been posted at the entry asking all to enter in silence.
The words offocus may be read by one person, but it is more effective if each paragraph is read by a djfferent voice:
Genesis 3:19 gives us these words, "For dust you are, and to dust you shall return."
The room is darkened. We gather in quietness. We anticipate the ashes on our forehead and we wonder why it is that we have come here on this dark night.
Maybe it is because Lent is a time when we can be truly honest. We don't need to pretend. We don't need to cover up our feelings. We can let our pain be anguish, our aloneness be loneliness, our sadness be grief. There is something satisfying about entering into the suffering of Jesus.
When we go into the desert with him, we can feel the dryness of our lips, the parched feeling in our throats, the sun burning on our cheeks. We can hear the voice of the tempter and, knowing that it is the same voice that our Lord once heard, we look to Christ for strength.
As we solemnly turn our thoughts to prayer, we can see Jesus in the darkness of the Garden of Gethsemane, alone, as his disciples slept, and we know that he understands all anguish that has been caused by human rejection.
And when we think of his last days, the scourging, the crown of thorns, the slaps to the face, the purple robe, the mocking, and the shouts of "Crucify him," "Crucify him," and then his death on the cross, our own distress fades in the wretchedness of his suffering.
Oh Jesus, our Jesus! Your agony is healing balm for our struggles!
Lent: A time for healing! A time to give up our pain! A time of darkness that points us to the one true light.
1 Peter 2:22: "For it is by his wounds that you have been healed."
Ash Wednesday Message
Invitation To The
Observance Of Lenten Discipline
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ: Christians have always observed with great devotion the days of our Lord's passion and resurrection. It became a custom of the church to prepare for Easter by a season of penitence, fasting, and prayer. This season of forty days provided a time in which converts to the faith were prepared for baptism into the body of Christ. It was also a time when persons who had committed serious sins and had been separated from the community of faith were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness and restored into the fellowship of the community of the church. Even today the whole congregation is reminded of the mercy and forgiveness proclaimed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the need for all of us to renew our baptismal faith.
The central congregational action for us then is to examine our conscience: to search out particular sins, characteristics, or habits in our life that are hurtful or unjust. Not that this is any special kind of list, but rather, let the following be your starting point of thought:
-What have I done or said lately that makes me feel guilty or ashamed?
-How has selfishness interfered with my relationship with God, and with others?
-Of whom have I felt envious or jealous?
-How has false pride ruled my life?
-Of whom have I been intolerant?
-How have I been dealing with my anger?
-What resentments am I holding onto?
-Have I been feeling sorry for myself and expecting others to jump to my way of thinking?
-Have I been touchy, irritable, or had my feelings hurt very easily?
-What have I done that has been dishonest?
-What have I said that is dishonest?
-Am I careful not to start or pass on any rumors or gossip?
-Have I allowed fear to rule my life?
-What amends do I need to make?
You will be asked to write a word or two on a piece of paper which represents what it is that you wish to place before the Lord. You will then be asked to place that piece of paper in a common dish for burning in community with other believers. As we watch them burn away together, I pray that you will find new strength from God.
After the burning we will ask God to bless the ashes, and they will be placed as a cross either on your forehead or on your hand as a remembrance of the power of God's grace to restore and renew us as Christians.
I invite you now, in the name of the Lord, to observe Holy Lent by self-examination, penitence, prayer, fasting and alms-giving; and by reading and meditating on the Word of God. (Small pieces of colored paper and pencils are passed around the circle.)
To make a right beginning, and as a mark of our mortality, let us bow our heads and silently seek God to guide each one of us.
(Silent Prayer)
As you are led, write your words on the paper and bring them to the center and place them in a pile to be burned.
