Ash Wednesday Complete Service #3 Submitted by Martha Chenault (Year C) MUSICAL PRELUDE AND WORDS OF WELCOME Welcome. Today is the first day of the Season of Lent. We are beginning our journey toward Holy Week and Easter. During Lent we look within ourselves to see how we as individuals and a society fall short of God's vision for us. To the Hebrew people, “sin” meant “missing the mark” or falling short of who we are meant to be. It means separating ourselves from the love of God and others. Today we confess the many ways that we, too, “miss the mark.” We seek God's forgiveness and new life. In ancient times, people would wear a sack cloth and ashes as a symbol of grief and regret. In church, we regularly confess our sins and seek forgiveness in our services of worship. We admit our mistakes and learn to live more lovingly together. In our service today, we will use the symbol of ashes (hold up a bowl of the ash mixture and place it down again). These ashes are made up of the palms from last Palm Sunday. Right now I am placing palm crosses from last year in there also. And adding them to the ash mixture. This mixture reminds us of the earth from which we came and to which we shall return. It reminds us of new life, just as ashes serve to fertilize the earth and help new plants to grow. OFFERING OF THE PALMS (As music is played people bring forward the palm crosses from last year if they have them. Then they return to their seats and prepare in silence for the service. CALL TO WORSHIP Now let us worship together in song, in prayer, in meditation, in confession, in the search for forgiveness and new life, and in the ancient ritual of the placing of an ashen cross on your forehead or hand. Please join with me in with our responsive Call to Worship: Leader: We stand in need of God’s grace and mercy. Let us turn to the Lord. People: May God look upon us with compassion and grant us forgivenesss. Leader: We stand in need of God’s healing power. Let us turn to the Lord. People: May God’s Spirit and redemptive power make us whole and restore us in body, mind and spirit. Leader: We stand in need of God’s word of hope. Let us turn to the Lord. People: May God’s voice be heard anew proclaiming hope to all who in trust come to our God. Leader: We stand in faith before the all-righteous and all- loving God. Let us offer worship and praise. People: May the worship we bring be to the glory and honor of God. HYMN Just As I Am THE FIRST READING (Joel 2:2-12) Leader: In our first reading the prophet Joel points to he fact that works of penance, if not related to that inner conversion to God in love, are worthless. Whatever has happened in the past, God is merciful and willing to forgive. Now — a reading from the prophet Joel... This is the Word of God: (Read text) PRAYER OF APPROACH (In unison) Loving God, how great and wonderful you are. You want us to journey with you, to be your hands and feet and hearts and minds, to bring your healing love to a hurting world. Be with us now as we look deeply within ourselves, as we seek your presence and your guidance, as we begin our Lenten journey this day. Amen. THE SECOND READING (Psalm, 51) Leader: King David had it all. He had won God's favor. He had killed the giant Goliath. He had become the king and could do anything he wanted. He was rich and loved by the people. Or so it seemed. As often happens to people who have great wealth and power, he wanted more. In this case, he wanted power over Bath Sheba, the wife of Uriah, David arranged for Uriah to be killed in battle. Then David took Bath Sheba for his wife. Nathan the prophet, who knew what David had done, came to him and challenged him with this story: Once there were two men, Nathan said. One was rich, and the other was poor. The rich man had many flocks of sheep, but the poor man had only one small sheep, which was more like a part of his family The rich man had a guest for dinner one day, but instead of taking one of his own sheep, he took the poor man's sheep and killed it to feed the guest. As God lives, that rich man deserves to die!, said David. He should give the poor man four sheep for being so selfish. Then Nathan revealed to David: “You are that man! , David. God says, “I gave you everything you have. If you'd wanted more, I'd have given it to you. Why then have you done what is evil in my sight?” When David heard this he could hardly believe his ears. “I have sinned against God by killing Uriah and hurting Bath Sheba!” he exclaimed to Nathan. Then he expressed his remorse in the words that follow: It is our reading from the Psalms: Let us read it together: Be merciful to me, 0 God, because of your constant love. Because of your mercy wipe away my sins! Wash away all my evil and make me clean from my sin! I recognize my faults; I am always conscious of my sins. I have sinned against you and done what you considered evil. You are right in judging me; justified in condemning me. I have sinned and done wrong. You want complete honesty: so teach me true wisdom. Remove my sin and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear the sounds of joy and gladness; though you have crushed me and broken me, I will be happy once again. Close your eyes to my sins and wipe out all my evil. Create in me a pure heart, 0 God, put a new and loyal spirit in me. Give me again the joy that comes from your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. Hymn: Amazing Grace CONFESSION AND ASSURANCE OF PARDON Leader: David's story is a powerful one. He was loved by God, but he broke the trust of those around him. We, too, are good people, loved by God. Yet we, too, miss the mark in big ways. David recognized his mistake and admitted it. He asked for God's healing forgiveness. People: What happens when we are confronted by our mistakes? Do we admit them as David did? Do we sincerely ask for God's forgiveness? Leader: God forgave David when he asked for forgiveness, and helped him face the consequences of his actions. People: Let us now be as willing as David to reflect on the ways we have abused the trust of others. Leader: We can also think about the loving things we know we should do, but don't. People: Or the ways we criticize and belittle others—our children, our partners, and groups in society that we fear. Leader: We can think about the ways we act intolerantly toward those who differ from ourselves. And how we often fail to listen, to learn, to respond to the crying injustices in our society. Leader: I invite you now to think of at least one thing to confess in silence before God. (Allow time for silent reflection.) Leader: For each silent confession offered this day, hear this prayer, 0 God, and bring your healing forgiveness. Amen. MEDITATION Ashes are Black ASHES AND ANOINTING There are many ways to show we are truly sorry and seek to live in God's way. Our words, our actions, and our way of being will tell the tale. To show our repentance and Our commitment to new life, we now invite you to receive the symbol of ashes. This symbol will be in the shape of a cross, and you can choose to have it placed on your forehead or on your hand. The ashes, a symbol of how sorry we are, have been mixed with oil, a symbol of God's healing. PRAYER (in unison) Loving and merciful God, We have made our honest confessions before you and before one another. We thank you for your forgiveness and for your healing. We pray for your continued forgiveness and healing in a hurting world. May nothing separate us from you as we follow Jesus during this Lenten journey. Amen. FINAL SCRIPTURE READING 2 Corinthians 5:17-6 Now let us listen to the words of St. Paul as he describes the new life we have in Christ. (Read text --2 Corinthians 5:17-6) HYMN “Take My Life” BENEDICTION Leader Let us go from this place, knowing that we are not alone on our journey. God is with us! Let us go, seeking new life in Christ, and with the peace of Christ in our hearts. Amen.