Lisa Frenz 1996
Prelude
Stand
A: Hear, O Israel, the Lord is your God!
P: Blow the Trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near— a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness spread upon the mountains a great and powerful army comes; their like has never been from of old, nor will be again after them in ages to come. (Joel 2:1-2)
Hymn: “My Lord, What a Morning”
Tune: Burleigh
Text Source: Text: African American spiritual
Music Source: Music: African American spiritual
Refrain:
My Lord, what a morning; my Lord, what a morning;
oh, my Lord, what a morning, when the stars begin to fall.
You’ll hear the trumpet sound, to wake the nations underground,
looking to my God’s right hand, when the stars begin to fall.
Refrain
You’ll hear the sinner cry, to wake the nations underground,
looking to my God’s right hand, when the stars begin to fall.
Refrain
You’ll hear the Christian shout, to wake the nations underground,
looking to my God’s right hand, when the stars begin to fall.
Refrain
Reading: Joel 2:12-17
Sit
Imposition of Ashes:
Hymn: “O Lord, hear my prayer”
Tune: Hear My Prayer
Text Source: Text: Psalm 102:1-2; adapt. Taize Community, 1982
Music Source: Music: Jacques Berthier, 1923-1994
O Lord, hear my prayer,. . . come and listen to me.
The Lord is my song,. . . God, the well-spring of life.
A: Dust and ashes are my food.
C: Death my companion
A: Futility and vain workings are my days.
C: Hopelessness is my jailer.
P: Only God can help me.
C: Only God is my salvation.
Hymn: “O Lord, hear my prayer”
A: Serenity and joy are gone.
C: Fear is ever with me.
A: Love and comfort are no more.
C: Loneliness is all I have.
A: Only God can restore me.
C: Only God is my salvation.
(The hymn is sung during the imposition of ashes, repeating as necessary, until all have returned to their seats.)
Dialog (from Isaiah 58:1-12 & Psalm 51:1-27)
P: 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.
C: Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
P: Yet day after day they seek me and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments, they delight to draw near to God.
C: Wash me thoroughly form my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
P: “Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?” Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day, and oppress all your workers.
C: Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.
P: 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.
C: Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.
P: 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?
C: You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
P: 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?
C: Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
P: 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?
C: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.
P: Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
C: Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.
P: If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.
C: O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
P: The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.
C: For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
P: Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.
Hymn: “Lord Jesus, Think on Me”
Tune: Southwell
Text Source: Text: Synesius of Cyrene, c. 375-430; tr. Allen W. Chatfield, 1808-1896, alt.
Music Source: Music: Daman, Psalmes, 1579
Hymn: “O Lord, hear my prayer”
Lord Jesus, think on me and purge away my sin;
From selfish passions set me free and make me pure within.
Lord Jesus, think on me, by anxious thoughts oppressed;
Let me your loving servant be and taste your promised rest.
Lord Jesus, think on me, nor let me go astray;
Through darkness and perplexity point out your chosen way.
Lord Jesus, think on me, that, when the flood is past,
I may the eternal brightness see and share your joy at last.
Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:20b - 6:10
Hymn: “In the cross of Christ I glory”
Tune: Rathbun
Text Source: Text: John Bowring, 1792-1872
Music Source: Music: Ithamar Conkey, 1815-1867
In the cross of Christ I glory, Tow’ring o’er the wrecks of time.
All the light of sacred story gathers round its head sublime.
When the woes of life o’ertake me, hopes deceive and fears annoy,
Never shall the cross forsake me; lo, it glows with peace and joy.
Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure, by the cross are sanctified;
Peace is there that knows no measure, joys that through all time abide.
Stand
Reading: Matthew 6:1-6
Hymn: “Where True Charity and Love Abide”
Tune: Taizé Ubi Caritas
Text Source: Text: Latin, 8th cent., tr. With One Voice
Music Source: Music: Jacques Berthier, 1923-1994
Reading: Matthew 6:16-18
Hymn: “Where True Charity and Love Abide”
Reading: Matthew 6:19-21
Hymn: “Where True Charity and Love Abide”
Sit
Homily
Stand
Hymn: “Come, My Way, My Truth, My Life”
Tune: The Call
Text Source: Text: George Herbert, 1593-1632
Music Source: Music: R. Vaughan Williams, 1872-1958
Where true charity and love abide, . . .t.
Come, my way, my truth, my life: Such a way as gives us breath;
Such a truth as ends all strife; such a life as conquers death.
Come, my light, my feast, my strength: Such a light as shows a feast;
Such a feast as mends in length; such a strength as makes his guest.
Come, my joy, my love, my heart: Such a joy as none can move;
Such a love as none can part; such a heart as joys in love.
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: We greet one another in peace, the peace which Christ has given us: Peace be with you.
C: And also with you.
Sit
Offering
Stand
A: Thank the Lord and sing God’s praise!
C: For God has given us all good things.
A: Our sacrifice is ourselves:
C: Our hearts, our minds, and our bodies.
A: Our gifts are only what God has given us:
C: Our goods, our money, and our time.
A: Thank the Lord and sing God’s praise!
C: For God has given us all good things!
Hymn: “Praise the Lord, Rise Up Rejoicing”
Tune: Alles ist an Gottes Segen
Text Source: Text: H. C. A. Gaunt, b. 1902, alt.
Music Source: Music: Johann Lohner, 1645-1705, adapt
Praise the Lord, rise up rejoicing, . . .Yours the final victory.
Scattered flock, one shepherd sharing, . . . We are yours, and you the Lord.
P: When the hour came, Jesus took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat the Passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” The he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” (Luke 22:14-20)
Come to the Table of the Lord. Receive this new life in Christ.
Distribution of Communion
(The hymn is sung, repeating as necessary, until all have communed.)
Hymn: “Eat this Bread”
Tune: Bertheir
Text Source: Text: John 6; adapt. Robert Batastini, b. 1942, and the Taize Community
Music Source: Music: Jacques Berthier, 1923-1994
P: Now, may the body and blood of the new covenant in Christ protect from all evil and keep you always in the presence of God. the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.
Hymn: “All Praise to Thee, My God, This Night”
Tune: Tallis’ Canon
Text Source: Text: Thomas Ken, 1637-1711
Music Source: Music: Thomas Tallis, c. 1505-1585
All praise to thee, my God, this night for all the blessings of the light.
Keep me, oh, keep me, King of kings, Beneath thine own almighty wings.
Forgive me, Lord, for thy dear Son, the ill that I this day have done;
That with the world, myself, and thee, I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.
Teach me to live, that I may dread Thy grave as little as my bed.
Teach me to die, that so I may rise glorious at the awesome day.
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; praise him all creatures here below;
Praise him above, ye heav’nly host; praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
A: Return to the Lord! Serve God, today!
C: Thanks be to the Lord! Amen.
Postlude