ASH WEDNESDAY

Ashes to ashes, stardust to stardust…Join us for a Zoom meditation for the beginning of Lent and then head out under the stars.
Wednesday February 17th, 7:00 PM

Click here to join the Zoom worship service or Enter Meeting ID: 982 3464 6064, Passcode: 057339. To call in, dial 1-301-715-8592 and enter the Meeting ID/Passcode if prompted.

Ash Wednesday begins the liturgical season of Lent, a season when we walk alongside Jesus in worship, study and prayer, a time when we are reminded of Jesus’ life and death. One way we honor Jesus’ journey to the cross and his self-sacrifice for the kingdom of God is by looking closely at our own lives. Jesus came so that we might have life, real and eternal life, a more and better life than we ever dreamed of.

The real work of Lent is not about generating false guilt or shame. The real work of Lent is not meant to beat us down or turn us against ourselves.

The real work of Lent is to renew our sense of connection, thus restoring our dignity and calling us back to ourselves, to a place where we acknowledge the invitation to choose life and our responsibility to take care of one another and the earth.

This Zoom service, with meditation, will invite us into contemplation of our own mortality, the cost of discipleship, and the joys of living a life of purpose. We hope you will join us.

“And so we begin our Lenten Journey this Ash Wednesday, with an open heart, asking the Creator to show us how to take the daily things of life and see them as sacred. May God guide us as we perform simple acts of love and prayer, and real works of reform and renewal. Let us love deeply the earth, which gives us air to breathe, water to drink and food to sustain us. May we remember that life is begotten from stardust, radiant in light and heat. We are all one, all of creation, all that now live, all that have ever lived. Remember we are stardust and to stardust we return. Remember we are connected and to connection we return. Remember we are part of the great mystery.”

This service is inspired by “The Star Within: An Ash Wednesday Service”, conducted at Plymouth Congregational Church, Minneapolis, MN (2004). It was created by Rev. Dr. Paula Lehman and Rev. Sarah Griffith.