Song “Let your living water”
For many centuries Christians have remembered the time of the last days of the life of Jesus until his death with great devotion. It has become a custom to fast and set aside time to pray. This time was particularly set aside for those who were preparing for baptism. Today we join in this tradition and with people throughout this Covid world, to give ourselves during this time of Lent to prayer, fasting and to reading and meditating on being a Christian.
Psalm 86v3-7
3 Be gracious to me, Lord,
For I call upon You all day long.
4 Make the soul of Your servant joyful,
For to You, Lord, I lift up my soul.
5 For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in mercy to all who call upon You.
6 Listen, Lord, to my prayer;
And give Your attention to the sound of my pleading!
7 On the day of my trouble I will call upon You,
For You will answer me.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God
Confession
Eternal God, we have sinned against you and against our neighbour in what we have thought, said and done, through ignorance, weakness and our own deliberate fault. We have wounded others and you and ourselves and marred your image in us. We are truly sorry and repent. Forgive us all that is past and lead us from darkness to walk as children of light. Amen.
Imposition of Ashes
As a sign of the spirit of penitence of Lent we receive a sign of the cross on our forehead. Loving God we remember that we are dust and to dust we shall return.
(We put an ash cross on our forehead and say the words)
“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return”
Prayer
We repent and remember that we were created from dust and will return to dust
We reflect on our own failings in a minute of silence
We turn away from our sins
Take up our cross
And follow Jesus.
We turn to embrace life.
In his name, Amen
Prayers of Intercession
Lord of all creation,
Hear our prayer.
God, we pray for your world, for those who have Covid and those who are caring for those who are ill, doctors, nurses, for those giving out vaccines and those receiving them, for scientists for governments
Lord in your mercy
Hear Our Prayer
We pray for those working for peace and justice In the UK, in the US, in Hong Kong, in Russia, in China, in Nigeria, in Ethiopia, In Belarus, in Thailand, in India-everywhere
Lord in your mercy
Hear Our Prayer
We pray for situations we know of that need our prayers at this time
For our friends and families
For ourselves
Loving God may we be hope and light and bring healing to the world by the strength of your Spirit within us.
We say the Lord’s Prayer together in our own language
Isaiah 58v 6-9
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?...Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.”
Silence
The peace of the Lord be always with you:
And also with you.
We share the peace with one another
Song “Peace like a river”
Blessing
Drive us out into the wilderness places of the world,
where there is chaos and the earth is damaged and people are hurting.
Help us to confront what is destructive in our own lives and around us.
By your Spirit
and the gentle ministering of your angels, Amen
Notes for Ash Wednesday
Joel 2.1-2,12-17 or Isaiah 58.1-12 Psalm 51.1-18
2 Corinthians 5.20b - 6.10
Matthew 6.1-6,16-21 or John 8.1-11
Joel 2 speaks of a day of ‘darkness and gloom’ for God’s people, by also reminds them of God’s ‘abounding and steadfast’ love. It includes a call to gather God’s people together to respond to this calling of God.
Isaiah 58 calls God’s people to turn away from selfish behaviours and towards God’s call of justice and righteousness. It paints a picture of actions of justice, and includes imagery of watered gardens and the end of drought to signify the coming of justice on the earth.
Matthew 6: 16-21 contains Jesus’ teaching on ‘storing up’ earthly treasures, and instead encouraging Jesus’ followers to seek heavenly reward for their behaviours. This could enable exploration of our patterns of consumerism, and how are lifestyles are oriented to earthly and heavenly reward.
John 8: 1-11 tells the story of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery. Its commentary on the sin of all people provides an opportunity to talk about our complicity in harming our world.
26 Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, God will honour. John 12v26
