Ash Wedesday Complete Service #4 From the Book of Common Prayer ASH WEDNESDAY LITURGY (designed to replace a normal confessional piece) Christians gather on this day to mark the beginning of Lent's baptismal preparation for Easter. On this day, the people of God receive an ashen cross on the forehead (a gesture rooted in baptism), hear the solemn proclamation to keep a fast in preparation for Easter's feast, and contemplate anew the ongoing meaning of baptismal initiation into the Lord's death and resurrection. While marked with the ashes of human mortality, the church hears God's promise of forgiveness and tastes God's mercy in the bread of life and the cup of salvation. From this solemn liturgy, the church goes forth on its journey to the great baptismal feast of Easter. EXHORTATION The minister addresses an exhortation to the congregation, using these or similar words: P Brothers and sisters: God created us to experience joy in communion with him, to love all humanity, and to live in harmony with all of his creation. But sin separates us from God, our neighbors, and creation, and so we do not enjoy the life our Creator intended for us. Also, by our sin we grieve our Father, who does not desire us to come under his judgment, but to turn to him and live. As disciples of the Lord Jesus we are called to struggle against everything that leads us away from love of God and neighbor. Repentance, fasting, prayer, and works of love--the discipline of Lent--help us to wage our spiritual warfare. I invite you, therefore, to commit yourselves to this struggle and confess your sins, asking our Father for strength to persevere in your Lenten discipline. Silence for reflection and self-examination precedes the confession. CONFESSION P Most holy and merciful Father: C We confess to you and to one another, and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth, that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word, and deed; by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. P We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven. C Have mercy on us, Lord. P We have been deaf to your call to serve as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit. C Have mercy on us, Lord. P We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness. The pride, hypocrisy, and impatience in our lives, C we confess to you, Lord. P Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people, C we confess to you, Lord. P Our anger at our own frustration, and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves, C we confess to you, Lord. P Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and our dishonesty in daily life and work, C we confess to you, Lord. P Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to commend the faith that is in us, C we confess to you, Lord. P Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done. For our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty, C accept our repentance, Lord. P For all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, and for our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us, C accept our repentance, Lord. P For our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us, C accept our repentance, Lord. P Restore us, good Lord, and let your anger depart from us. C Hear us, Lord, for your mercy is great. Amen IMPOSITION OF ASHES Those who desire to receive ashes come forward . The ministers applies ashes to the forehead of each person with the words: Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. After all who desire ashes have received them, the minister leads the congregation in the conclusion of the confession. P Accomplish in us, O God, the work of your salvation, C that we may show forth your glory in the world. P By the cross and Passion of your Son, our Lord, C bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection. P Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, does not desire the death of sinners, but rather that they may turn from their wickedness and live. Therefore we implore him to grant us true repentance and his Holy Spirit, that those things may please him which we do on this day, that the rest of our life may be pure and holy, and that at the last we may come to his eternal joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. C Amen OR: The Greeting P: God sent Christ into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. God's love endures forever. God is our refuge and strength, a present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though the waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. God's love endures forever. Let us begin this service in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen Prayer of the Day P: Let us pray. Gracious God, out of your love and mercy you breathed into dust the breath of life, creating us to serve you and neighbors. Call forth our prayers and acts of tenderness and strengthen us to face our mortality, that we may reach with confidence for your mercy; in Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. The Word First Reading Joel 2:1-2, 12-17; or Isaiah 58:1-12 Second Reading 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 Gospel Reading Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 A Word for the Day Invitation to the Observance of the Lenten Discipline P: Friends in Christ, every year at the time of Easter we celebrate our redemption through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Lent is a time to prepare for this celebration and to renew our life in the paschal mystery. We begin this holy season by acknowledging our need for repentance, and for the mercy and forgiveness proclaimed in the gospel of Jesus Christ. (If ashes are used, the following may be said:) We begin our journey to Easter with the sign of ashes. This ancient sign speaks of the frailty and uncertainty of human life, and marks the penitence of this community. I invite you, therefore, in the name of Christ, to observe a holy Lent by self-examination and penitence, by prayer and fasting, by works of love, and by reading and meditating on the Word of God. Let us come before God, our Creator and Redeemer, and confess our sin. Silence is kept for reflection and self-examination. Litany of Penitence P: Let us pray. Holy and merciful God, we confess to you and to one another, and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth, that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others as we have been forgiven. Have mercy on us, O God. We have not listened to your call to serve as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit. Have mercy on us, O God. We confess to you, O God, all our past unfaithfulness: The pride, hypocrisy, and impatience in our lives, we confess to you, O God. Our self-indulgent appetites and ways and our exploitation of other people, We confess to you, O God. Our anger at our own frustration and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves, we confess to you, O God. Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and our dishonesty in daily life and work, we confess to you, O God. Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to commend the faith that is in us, we confess to you, O God. Accept our repentance, O God, for the wrongs we have done.For our neglect of human need and suffering and our indifference to injustice and cruelty, accept our repentance, O God. For all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, and for our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us, accept our repentance, O God. For our waste and pollution of your creation and our lack of concern for those who come after us, accept our repentance, O God. Restore us, O God, and let your anger depart from us. Favorably hear us, O God, for your mercy is great. If ashes are to be imposed, the following prayer, or a similar prayer, is said: Almighty God, you have created us out of the dust of the earth. May these ashes be for us a sign of our mortality and penitence, and a reminder that only by your gracious gift are we given everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen. The Imposition of Ashes People are invited to come forward to receive the imposition of ashes. P: Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. After all who desire ashes have received them the confession concludes with the following words Accomplish in us, O God, the work of your salvation, That we may show forth your glory in the world. By the cross and passion of our Savior, bring us with all your saints to the joy of Christ's resurrection. The Eucharist and Invitation to the Lord's Table Standing at the table, the presiding minister invites the people to the Lord's Supper, saying: P: Hear the gracious words of our Savior Jesus Christ: Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. No one who comes to me will I cast out. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,for they will be filled. Great Thanksgiving All may stand. P: The Lord be with you. And also with you. Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give our thanks and praise. It is truly right and our greatest joy to give you thanks and praise, eternal God, creator and ruler of the universe. You are our God, and we are the creatures of your hand. You made us from the dust of the earth, breathed into us the breath of life, and set us in your world to love and serve you. When we rejected your love and ignored your wisdom, you did not reject us. You loved us still and called us to turn again to you in obedience and in love. Therefore we praise you, joining our voices with the heavenly choirs and with all the faithful of every time and place, who forever sing to the glory of your name: The people may sing or say: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. P: You are holy, O God of majesty, and blessed is Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Out of your great love for the world, you sent Jesus among us to set us free from the tyranny of evil. He lived as one of us, sharing our joys and sorrows. By his dying and rising, he releases us from bondage to sin and frees us from the dominion of death. We give you thanks that the Lord Jesus, on the night before he died, took bread, and after giving thanks to you, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take, eat. This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way he took the cup, saying: This cup is the new covenant sealed in my blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this in remembrance of me. Remembering all your mighty and merciful acts, we take this bread and this wine from the gifts you have given us, and celebrate with joy the redemption won for us in Jesus Christ. Accept this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving as a living and holy offering of ourselves, that our lives may proclaim the One crucified and risen. Great is the mystery of faith: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. Gracious God, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these your gifts of bread and wine, that the bread we break and the cup we bless may be the communion of the body and blood of Christ. By your Spirit unite us with the living Christ and with all who are baptized in his name, that we may be one in ministry in every place. As this bread is Christ's body for us, send us out to be the body of Christ in the world. Lead us, O God, by the power of your Spirit to live as the Lord requires: to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with you, our God. Keep our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ until this mortal life is ended, and all that is earthly returns to dust. Give us strength to serve you faithfully until the promised day of resurrection, when, with the redeemed of all the ages, we will feast with you at your table in glory. Through Christ, all glory and honor are yours, almighty Father, with the Holy Spirit in the holy church, now and forever. Amen. And now, with the confidence of the children of God, let us pray: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. All may be seated. Breaking of the Bread Holding out both the bread and the cup to the people, the minister says: P: Holy things for holy people. The people may come forward. Post-communion Prayer God of compassion, through your Son Jesus Christ you reconciled your people to yourself. Following his example of prayer and fasting, may we obey you with willing hearts and serve one another in holy love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Blessing and Charge The minister gives God's blessing to the congregation, saying: May the God of peace make you holy in every way and keep your whole being spirit, soul, and body free from every fault at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Thanks be to God. All quietly depart.