Prelude - Sarah Park
Welcome & Purpose Rev. Delaney
Welcome everyone to our Ash Wednesday service. Welcome to those who are at home on YouTube Live. We’re glad you are here. We join together with our siblings from Hilltop and Hiram Christian Churches. Joining me tonight is Rev. Chris McCreight (from Hiram Christian) and Student Pastor Eric Davis (from Hilltop Christian). I’m grateful for our shared ministry as Disciples United
As we begin in worship please follow along in your bulletin and recognize that there will be times of response, silence, and music.
This evening we begin today a 40-day journey walking with Christ to
Holy Week. We enter the Lenten season to prepare ourselves to welcome Christ into our lives anew. On Ash Wednesday we are invited to assume a posture of self-examination, confession, and penitence. To not dwell on our faults, but to acknowledge them and grow from them. To be mindful and find in God’s forgiveness strength to keep striving, seeking, and sharing God’s love in the world. To be individuals, a church, a community that more deeply reflects the love of Christ.
Centering Words by Sara Eidson
Today is a call to fast, to recognize the patterns of God's creation,
to recognize the order of the Christian year.
The time of feasting will come.
But now we empty our hearts,
we spring clean our souls,
we prepare for the journey to come.
In a world that seeks to fill our lives with
instant gratification of every desire,
we recognize God's call to set ourselves apart,
to enter into a spiritual season of famine.
We empty ourselves in this season,
preparing for the great feast to come in the brilliance of Easter morning.
Call to Worship Rev. Chad Delaney
ONE: Merciful God, we are but dust. but as the abundance of
the Earth displays,
ALL: You can do phenomenal things with dust!
ONE: From the daisy to the Redwood,
ALL: from the strawberry to the apple tree,
ONE: from the tamarind to the tomatillo,
ALL: You fill this world with beauty and splendor, with life
beyond our wildest imaginations.
ONE: We know that if we open our hearts and minds,
ALL: You, Creator God, will do phenomenal things through us.
Hymn Have Thine Own Way, Lord! #588, vs. 1-4
1 Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way! Thou art the potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after thy will, while I am waiting, yielded and still.
2 Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way! Search me and try me, Savior today!
Wash me just now, Lord, wash me just now, as in thy presence humbly I bow.
3 Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way! Wounded and weary, help me I pray!
Power, all power, surely is thine! Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!
4 Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way! Hold o'er my being absolute sway.
Fill with thy Spirit till all shall see Christ only, always, living in me!
Scripture Reading Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 Rev. Chris McCreight
1‘Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 ‘So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 3But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 5 ‘And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 16 ‘And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 19‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Prayer of Confession Eric Davis
During our prayer of confession, when I say…God of all Creation…you say:
Help us choose the path that leads to repentance.
Let us pray,
O God, you have called us to return to you, for you are slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. God of all Creation…
Help us choose the path that leads to repentance.
God, all too often we have practiced our piety in public, basking in the glory of our fellow human beings. Remind us to turn our faces toward you, knowing that our reward is found in your presence. God of all Creation…
Help us choose the path that leads to repentance.
We have stored up treasures on earth; trinkets that ultimately mean nothing. Tonight we pause, acknowledging that we are but dust, and one day to dust we will return. God of all Creation…
Help us choose the path that leads to repentance.
We confess we have often run from our own mortality, regardless of the cost. Help us to run toward you. Give us courage to remember how fleeting this life is, and that we must therefore devote our all to you. God of all Creation…
Help us choose the path that leads to repentance.
SILENCE
Scripture Reading Joel 2:12-14 Eric Davis
12 Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13 rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God,
for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing.
14 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain-offering and a drink-offering for the Lord, your God?
Meditation Turning over the Soil Rev. Delaney
In our yard, we have 3 raised beds. When winter is waning and spring is coming, I always look at them with both excitement and anticipatory weariness. I thoroughly enjoy planting the zinnias, sunflowers, and snapdragons. I look forward to seeing the milkweed, daffodils, and tulips popping up. Last year we had tomatoes and red peppers and we hope to add to it. So much to look forward to. And…in order to get to that wonderful place there is a lot of work to do.
Although I’ve borrowed a rototiller on occasion, usually I turn-over the beds by hand with a shovel. One step and strike at a time. Lift. Turn. Break it up. Repeat. Each time I do it, I wonder… “Is this really necessary?” “Won’t the flowers and vegetables grow just fine without doing all this?” It is hard work and, of course, it is worthwhile.
Turning over the garden helps with
- Weed control
- Soil aeration to increase circulation and water infiltration
- It gives greater pathways to mix in some fertilizers and topsoil.
- It makes the environment better for seed germination filled with nutrients, earthworms, fungi, bacteria, and all matter of microorganisms to really help the plants grow and flourish.
Taking the time to turnover the soil makes a huge difference to the health of our gardens.
Wendell Berry wrote, “The soil is the great connector of lives, the source and destination of all. It is the healer and restorer and resurrector, by which disease passes into health, age into youth, death into life."
Today, Ash Wednesday, signifies the beginning of a kind-of liturgical rototilling…also traditionally known as Lent. A chance for self-examination and renewal. That rototilling looks different for everyone…the Prophet Joel suggests fasting and weeping and mourning. Perhaps you will try giving, sharing, or simplifying. Perhaps you will try a little of both.
The point is to put some thought and work and prayer into….Whatever will help you to rend your heart…to prepare your heart to return to health, to help return to wholeness, to help us return to the Lord, our God, with all our hearts.
It may take a little elbow grease, some sweat, some tears…you may enjoy every second and it may be really hard. What we do know, is that if you are anything like me, we can all--ourselves, our communities, our nation, our world--all could do with a little weed control and soil aeration. Some fertilizer and nutrients. To root out what is getting in the way of our faithfulness. To make more open the pathways to experience and share love, hospitality, grace, and mercy of our God. To make our lives ready for the seeds of our teacher, the teachings of Jesus -- his life and ministry -- to be planted within us and to then bear fruit in the world.
What ways can each of us work on the soil of our own soul gardens? How can we work on within our communal gardens and shared spaces? What ways can we be more faithful to the call to which we have been called?
Welcome to Ash Wednesday…let’s turn over the soil…and prepare to grow. May it be so. Amen.
SILENCE
Blessing of the Ashes Rev. McCreight
Introduction
From ancient times, the season of Lent extends an invitation to all Christians to intentionally search their hearts, to repent, and to seek forgiveness for the ways we have hurt ourselves, others, and our world. As a sign of this seeking reconciliation with God, Christians for many centuries, have received ashes marked on their foreheads to recognize our own vulnerability and mortality.
Prayer
Bless, O God, these ashes and those who receive them. From dust we were created, and to dust we shall return. Let these ashes remind us of our sin and our mortality, of our need for your love and your grace. May they serve as a reminder that in your generous spirit, you make beautiful things out of dust, and grow beautiful things within each of us. Amen.
Imposition of Ashes
Come forward to receive ashes on your forehead or hand
as you feel comfortable
Litany of Penitence Rev. McCreight
With confidence in God’s mercy, let us pray for the world and for ourselves. When I say, “God, in your mercy,” You will respond, “Hear our prayer.”
For the church, that in this season of fasting and repentance the people of God may recognize their detachment from God’s creation and seek to restore the Creator’s justice. God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For a world in which peace seems unreachable, that the nations might seek peace with one another. God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For the leaders and powerful persons of the world, that they might lead with integrity, and be imbued with respect for all of creation. God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For Northern Portage County and all who live here, for our Disciples United Churches--Hiram, Hilltop, and Center--that neighborhoods and churches might be places where all good things are free to grow. God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For the least, last, and lost, that they may be delivered from their distress. For God’s people, that we might hear their cries. God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For all these things, and those known only to you, we pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn “ I Need Thee Every Hour” #578, vs. 1-4
1 I need thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
no tender voice like thine can peace afford.
[Refrain]
I need thee, oh, I need thee; every hour I need thee;
O bless me now, my Savior, I come to thee.
2 I need thee every hour; stay thou near by;
temptations lose their power when thou art nigh. [Refrain]
3 I need thee every hour in joy or pain;
come quickly, and abide or life is vain. [Refrain]
4 I need thee every hour, teach me thy will,
and thy rich promises in me fulfill. [Refrain]
Benediction Rev. Delaney
May God bless each of us on our Lenten Journey.
May this truly be a Time to Grow.
From dust you have come, and to dust you shall return.
And…God can make beautiful things out of dust. Amen.
Postlude Sarah Park