Ash Wednesday Return

Ash Wednesday

Return to the Lord. Come back to your true life again.

Baptismal Font should be in the front, if possible, and with a candle lit on, in or near it.

Lights can be on dim. Altar lights can be lighted during the prelude.

There may be one or more Readers for the Confession.

Ash Wednesday 2009

Return to the Lord.

Come back to your true life again.

Order for Worship

▲ = Stand as you are able ▼ = Sit

Prelude and Lighting of Candles

Call to Worship: (spoken over music)

▼ P: Return to the Lord.

Leave behind all the pain.

Leave behind all the hate.

Come back to your true life again.

A: Return to the Lord.

Abandon your sins.

Abandon your fears.

Come back to repentance and hope.

Imposition of Ashes:

Those who wish, may come forward to receive ashes on their foreheads.

(“Jesus Remember Me”, may be sung during the imposition of ashes

P: Return to the Lord.

Discard your old ways.

Give up your old sorrows.

Cling to the hope found in Christ.

I Will Draw You Near Me vs. 1

Tune Name: DRAW NEAR (Collection: As Sunshine to a Garden)

Text Source: Text: Rusty Edwards, based on Jeremiah 31

Music Source: Music: Linda Cable Shute

Confession:

R: Temptation is to want a rulebook of laws which lead to salvation - not Grace. The rules mean “we can do it”. Grace means “God does it”.

C: We are closed, O God. Open us to you.

R: It isn't being faithful, or even contrite, which is the most important thing. It is being "open". Open to acceptance of God's forgiveness, open to letting go of self, open to letting God just happen.

C: We are closed, O God. Open us to you.

R: An author once said that what God needs to work in the world is a person who is an empty cup turned upright. That way, God can pour in and work through us. The cup doesn't know what's being done, because it can't see itself. It has no control over what it receives. This sounds so easy, but it is so terribly hard to do.

C: We are closed, O God. Open us to you.

R: We all work hard to be "perfect before God". In the meantime, we forget that once we have accepted Jesus the work is already done. We have nothing left to do but be ourselves, accept ourselves, and let the Holy Spirit do the rest of the "perfecting".

C: We are closed, O God. Open us to you.

R: An experience of total and complete acceptance of God is rare – that feeling of “Whether we live or die, it is all ok”. Every once in a while, we get a taste of that, but most of the time, we’re too stubborn to just step back and let God in.

C: We are closed, O God. Open us to you.

▲ P: Lord Jesus Christ, you know our faults and have heard our prayers. You have ripped open the barriers that separate us from God and opened us to the grace of God through your sacrifice of love on a cross, and your resurrection from the dead. Promise of God, fill your people and give us peace.

The peace of the Lord be with you.

C: And also with you.

(All share a greeting of peace.)

The Word:

P: The Lord be with you.

C: And also with you.

P: Let us pray,

The Prayer of the Day is spoken.

Optional Anthem: Breathe on Me, Aaron David Miller

1st Lesson Isaiah 58:1-12

R: The Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

Psalm (spoken or chanted) Psalm 51:1-17 (1)

R: The Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

2nd Lesson 2 Corinthians 5:20b—6:10

R: The Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

▲ Gospel Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

R: The Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

▼ Music for Meditation

Message

▲ Theme Song: O Lord, throughout These Forty Days

Tune: CONSOLATION

Testimony:

I believe in God the Creator, who made me and all things, who set me on my path in this world.

I believe in God the Savior, who is one with the Creator, who rescued me and all creation from the depredations of our violations against God and creation. This man, Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, walked a path through this world, taking on human form having been born of a woman through the power of the Holy Spirit. He lived and worked in this world among people just like me. He walked God’s path to death on a cross, and rose from the dead to open our pathway to eternal life.

I believe in God the Holy Spirit, my counselor and guide, who is one with the Creator and the Christ, who through the body and blood of Jesus brings me into communion with all people, past, present and future; who calls me to walk a sacred way of life through this world, caring for creation and the people I meet on the way, loving them, helping them, welcoming them without prejudice, being God’s hands and feet in the world.

Prayer Song: Let My Prayer Rise Up

Text: Holden Evening Prayer, Marty Haugen, b. 1950, based on Psalm 141

Music: Marty Haugen

Prayers of the Church Celebrate

Offering of Gifts

Optional Anthem: Bow Down Your Ear, Aaron David Miller

Offering Prayer:

A: We stand before you, O God, on the pathways of our lives, and offer you our thanks and praise.

C: God of all power and might, the world and all that is in it belongs to you. Our gratitude and devotion are yours for all the wonders of the sacred life you have bestowed in our care, for the skills, understanding and gifts you have given us to preserve that life. From you comes all good things and out of our gratitude we accept those gifts and use them with joy and care in your name. Grant us the wisdom and knowledge to be your agents, to love and care for the world in all it’s diversity, as you love and care for us, your children. Amen.

Blessing:

P: May the God of love and grace keep you safe.

May the God of comfort and healing hold you close.

May the God of peace and joy fill your heart.

C: Amen.

Sending Song: O Light Whose Splendor Thrills

Tune Name: ST. CLEMENT

Text Source: Text: Greek hymn, 3rd cent.; para. Carl P. Daw Jr., b. 1944, Copyright Administrator: Hope Publishing Company (ASCAP)

Music Source: Music: Clement Scholefield, 1839-1904

A: Go in peace. Serve the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

Postlude