ECUMENICAL ASH
WEDNESDAY SERVICE
Mary Mother of Jesus
Inclusive Catholic Community
and
St. Andrew United
Church of Christ
GATHERING
SONG (sing three times)
Ash Wednesday Comes and, God, We Hear
by
Carolyn Winfrey Gillette
Tune: TALLIS’
CANNON
READINGS
Genesis 2:4b-7 (The Inclusive Bible) Rev. Paul Werner
At the
time when God made the heavens and the earth, there was still no wild bush on
the earth nor had any wild plant sprung up, for God had not yet sent rain to
the earth, and there was no human being to till the soil. Instead, a flow of
water would well up from the ground and irrigate the soil.
So God
fashioned an earth creature out of the clay of the earth, and blew into its
nostrils the breath of life. And the earth creature became a living being.
Excerpt from We Are Dust and to Dust We Shall Return
by Dawn
Hutchings
Bishop Bridget Mary Meehan
On Ash
Wednesday, we dare to speak the truth. We speak the truth not in the refreshing
light of the morning but in the cold darkness of a winter’s night. We are dust
and to dust we shall return. We will die. We are mortal beings and so our lives
will end. Our culture has taught us to deny death. Even our funerals have
become celebrations of life. But life without the reality of death is lived
cheaply, shallowly, in a half-sleep, always pushing away and denying reality.
So, on Ash Wednesday let us revel in the knowledge that we are dust and to dust
we shall return. Revel in this knowledge because it liberates us!
On Ash
Wednesday the reality that we are part of something so much bigger than
ourselves is born out in the knowledge that we are stardust, elements of the
universe molded together over eons, molded together by a force bigger than we
can even begin to imagine, a force we call God, whom we have come to know is
Love. Love is breathed into the timeless elements and from the dust our
ancestors emerged. Each one of us lives and breathes and has our being as a
result of the confluence of so many miracles we shall never be able to count.
The Love who is God lives and breathes in, with, through, and beyond us.
PRAYER (in unison)
O God, you are so
kind.
We trust you.
Tonight we long for
your healing touch.
Tonight we yearn for
the clarity of your truth.
We are in awe before
you.
There is a quickening
within us as we sense your presence.
We are eager to be
reconciled to you.
Put a fresh wind in
our sails.
Strengthen us for the
work of building community.
Infuse us with your
forgiving love.
We pray in the name of
Jesus. Amen.
CONFIRMING
OUR PRAYER IN SONG
Spirit of the Living God (NCH 283)
Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me;
Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.
Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.
LITANY
OF CONFESSION
Bridget
Mary: When we deny ourselves to get
others’ admiration,
All: Forgive us, Merciful One.
Paul: When we fail to do unto
others as we would like them to
do unto us,
All: Forgive us, Spirit of Love.
Bridget
Mary: When we put our privileged
selves first, before the poor
and needy and
disadvantaged of this world,
All: Forgive us, Creator of Truth.
Paul: When we keep for ourselves
more than what we need,
All: Forgive us, Generous God.
Bridget
Mary: Forgive us our sins and trespasses
and debts.
All: Only
then can our souls be washed clean and spotless. Only then can we be your true
servants. Amen.
SONG OF
HEALING
Like a Healing Stream (SPP 73)
MEDITATION
(from Psalm 46:10) Bishop Bridget Mary Meehan
Settle into your seat, close your eyes, and
imagine a place that brings you comfort and peace. Breathe in the goodness of
that space. Breathe forth the goodness that is within you.
Be still and know that I am God
Be still and know that I am
Be still and know that I
Be still and know that
Be still and know
Be still and
Be still
Be
IMPOSITION
OF ASHES Bishop Bridget Mary Meehan
and Rev. Paul Werner
“Remember the remarkable things God does with dust.”
SERVICE OF HOLY COMMUNION
INVITATION
Paul: Jesus sets the table where we
dine today. Jesus’ welcome extends to all of humanity.
All: No matter how old you are, no matter
your gender, no matter your culture, no matter whom you love, no matter your
ability, no matter your race, no matter your faith journey, all are welcome at
this table.
Bridget
Mary: No one can “earn” a place at
this meal. Come of your own choice.
All: Bring your hopes and your history.
Bring your deliberations and your doubts. Bring your cry for liberation. But
what is most important is that you come as your whole self.
COMMUNION
SONG
We Are People on a Journey (NCH 340)
We are people on a journey; pain is with us all the way.
Joyfully we come together at the holy feast of God.
God has sent the invitation to the humble and the poor.
Joyfully we come together at the holy feast of God.
This is bread that God provides us, nourishing our unity.
Joyfully we come together at the holy feast of God.
Christ is ever present with us to unite us all in love.
Joyfully we come together at the holy feast of God.
All who truly thirst for justice seek their liberation
here.
Joyfully we come together at the holy feast of God.
WORDS OF
REMEMBRANCE: THE COMMUNION STORY
Paul: O
God, we thank you for the gift of Jesus in history—and the gift of Christ in
faith. Through him, you breathe life into us. He was moved by his vision of
your constant presence in everyone he met, everywhere he went. He revealed you
in everything he did in his life well lived. And he showed us, through his
example, not only how we should live, but also for what is worth dying.
Bridget
Mary: And when his time on earth had
come to an end, Jesus surrendered his life for a value that he deeply believed,
lived, and taught—his conviction that love is stronger than death. And then,
providing a personal example of this insight for the understanding of people in
ages to come, he opened wide his arms on a cross and died. Then the Spirit, one
stronger than death, raised Jesus to live, showing everyone that life is
eternal and that love is immortal. Jesus is with us—and lives in us—today as he
will through the end of time.
All: O God, let your Spirit of life,
healing, and wholeness come upon these gifts—this simple wheat and fruit of the
vine. May your Spirit make them holy so that they will become for us the Body
and Blood of Jesus, our brother.
Bridget
Mary: We remember the gift that Jesus
gave us on the night before he died. He gathered with his friends to share his
final Passover meal. And it was at that supper that Jesus took bread, said the
blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to them saying, “Take this, all of you,
and eat it. We are one body, the presence of God in the world. Do this in
memory of me.”
Paul: In the same way, Jesus took a
cup of the fruit of the vine. He said the blessing and gave it to his friends
saying, “Take this, all of you, and drink it. We are one blood, the presence of
God in the world. Do this in memory of me.”
Bridget
Mary: As we gather around this banquet
table, we recall God’s blessing and love from ages past and we celebrate and
share these gifts in friendship, kinship, and peace.
Paul: These are the gifts of God
for the people of God. Come, for all things are made ready.
RECEIVING
COMMUNION
All are welcome at God’s Table. No one is turned away.
We receive communion by the ancient rite of
intinction. Please come forward by the center aisle and return by the side
aisles. Take a piece of bread, dip it in the chalice, and receive both elements
in kind. As is our custom, the chalice contains grape juice rather than wine,
so all can participate in this wonderful meal.
PRAYER
OF THANKSGIVING
In gratitude, in deep
gratitude
for this moment,
this meal,
these people,
we give ourselves to
you.
Take us out to live as
changed people
because we have shared
the Living Bread
and cannot remain the
same.
Ask much of us,
expect much from us,
enable much by us,
encourage many through
us.
So, God, may we live
to your glory,
both as inhabitants of
earth
and citizens of
heaven.
Amen.
BLESSING
SONG (sing three times)
Go now in peace; go now in peace.
May the love of God surround you
everywhere, everywhere, you may go.
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