ASH WEDNESDAY WORSHIP-ST. DAVID'S UNITED CHURCH

Ash Wednesday Prayer Service 2015

One moment we feel close to God and can see signs of our

deepening faithfulness. But all too suddenly our faith becomes fragile, we know sorrow and emptiness, we hurt those who are closest to us. This is the human condition. The Season of Lent gives us the opportunity to give honest voice to this human mixture within and around us. And this Ash Wednesday service blends the ashes of regret with the oil of renewal as a sign of the Lenten season.

Gathered in community

we share spiritual union

with God and one another.

Surrounded by Love,

we express our deepest thoughts and feelings

(bring stones forward and arrange in a spiral leaving space in the middle for the candle).

The Ever Present One

moves within, between, and beyond

and we rest in gentle currents of peace.

Surrounded by Love,

we express our deepest thoughts and feelings

(place the candle in the middle of the spiral and light).

Sensing the vulnerability of this season,

we shiver at our frailty

and seek the strength of Love.

Surrounded by Love,

we express our deepest thoughts and feelings

(bring pieces of palm branches forward, and place them around the spiral).

Longing for renewal

we turn to Love

knowing Love, alone, is our hope.

Surrounded by Love,

we express our deepest thoughts and feelings

(place the bowls of ashes and oil on the table).

Opening prayer

(Lift the bowls of ashes and oil.)

We pray that Love will hold all of us –

our deepest thoughts and feelings –

and that all that we are

can be welcomed into this community.

(Mix the oil into the ashes.)

May Love hold and heal

and shape us into something new.

Amen.

The church bell is rung to “sound the alarm!”

Based on Joel 2:1–2, 12–17

One: Blow the trumpet! Sound the alarm!

All: We return to God.

One: Gather the people! Assemble the aged! Gather the children!

All: We return to God.

One: Return to God with all your heart. For God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.

All: We return to God with all our heart.

A bell is rung again to “sound the alarm!”

Scripture reading Isaiah 58:1–7

ONE: Shout out, do not hold back!
   Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Announce to my people their rebellion,
   to the house of Jacob their sins. ² Yet day after day they seek me
   and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that practised righteousness
   and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgements,
   they delight to draw near to God.

ALL: Why do we fast, but you do not see?

Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?

ONE: Look, you serve your own interest on your fast-day,
   and oppress all your workers. ⁴ Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
   and to strike with a wicked fist.
Such fasting as you do today
   will not make your voice heard on high. ⁵ Is such the fast that I choose,
   a day to humble oneself?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,
   and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast,
   a day acceptable to the Lord?

ALL: What kind of fasting do you desire?

ONE: ⁶ Is not this the fast that I choose:
   to loose the bonds of injustice,
   to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
   and to break every yoke? ⁷ Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
   and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
   and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

ALL: May our love shine like the dawn

and may the healing of the world

burst forth like flowers in the spring.

Ashes and Oil

In ancient times, the Jewish people used ashes as a symbol to show God that they were sorry. Name actions that people do that bring harm and loving actions that people sometimes do not do, and things for which people are sometimes sorry.

Ash Wednesday begins the Season of Lent, a time when we bring our deep feelings and thoughts to God. It is a time to say we are sorry and also to make changes so we can live in new, healing ways.

Oil was an ancient symbol of healing. It reminds us that Love is always willing and ready to forgive. No matter what we do, God is ready to forgive. That’s another part of Lent: to remember God’s great love for the world.

Silence is kept (5 minutes) Bell is rung to start and end

Chant: Within our darkest night, you kindle the fire that never dies away, never dies away.        

Love is with us always (indicate the lit candle on the table).

Leader: You are invited to come forward and receive

the symbol of the ashes.

Dip two fingers into the bowl and take out some ashes,

making a sign of the cross with them in the palm of your other hand. Or if you would like the presider to anoint your forehead, stand with folded hands.

Words for the anointing: You are renewed and reborn in love.

Response to the anointing

Let us pray:

At this moment, on Ash Wednesday,

we have made our choice.

We choose to travel the Lenten way

and we carry in our lives the ashes and oil

of human and Divine reality.

The path is uncertain,

some days may feel unfamiliar.

Still, may we choose to go deeper along the way

for nothing can separate us

from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Amen.

BLESS

Let us move into Lent in faith and truth,

touching each other’s lives as we go.

(You are invited to place your hand on the shoulder of a person near you)

And may God in Christ call us on,

the God who is our Loving Parent

comfort us as we go

and the Holy Spirit light the way ahead. Amen.