Ash Wednesday 2022
Call to Worship
In the beginning,
There was only dust:
Stardust swirling through nothingness,
Settling into blazing suns and rocky planets,
Shifting into soil,
And slowly sprouting into life.
Response: We come from the dust.
“Good” is what you called the dust:
Rich with nutrients,
Made of the bones and breath of all things,
Nourished by all that has come before,
Filled with endless possibility.
Response: We come from the dust.
There is no other place but dust,
Where death and life,
Where chaos and creativity,
Where past, present, and future
Intertwine to somehow birth even more goodness.
We come from the dust.
And in the dust we find you, God:
Rest, restoration, and unfailing Love.
Amen.
Prayer Over the Ashes
Holy One, you molded and made us out of the ashes of this earth.
All people, all things come from this very same dust.
Tonight, we return to the fertile soil that birthed us.
May we release the rough edges of our hearts, minds, and bodies into your hands.
May we be reminded of the short time we have here in Creation.
May we be renewed in our work back to grow good gardens in our lives.
We pray these things in Christ’s name,
the one who first walked this Lenten journey
and who walks alongside us now and forever.
Amen.
Prayer Response
(The sung response comes from “Teach Us Your Ways” by The Porter’s Gate)
Merciful God,
There is nothing you’ve made that you don’t call good.
In our broken bodies exhausted by life.
In our weak hearts wounded by the past.
In our fragile spirits tempted by the world.
From the inside out, God, make us new.
Teach us Your ways, teach us Your ways
As we learn from one another
Learn to love each other
Teach us Your ways
Merciful God,
There is nothing you’ve made that you can’t restore.
In our ravenous greed that feeds only ourselves.
In our judgment of strangers whose stories we’ve never heard.
In our reluctance to care for the poor, unhoused, forgotten, and alone.
Through the strength of community, God, make us new.
Teach us to give, teach us to give
Give ourselves for one another
Learn to love each other
Teach us to give
Merciful God,
There is nothing you’ve made that you can’t rebuild.
In our decisions that bring violence upon one another and Creation.
In our narratives that confer dignity and privilege on a select few.
In our systems that divide and conquer, instead of unify and sustain.
Through the power of compassion, God, make us new.
Teach us to weep, teach us to weep
Let us weep with one another
Learn to love each other
Teach us to weep
Merciful God,
There is nothing that can ever keep us from you.
Not sin.
Not shame.
Not even death.
Through your unfailing love, God, make us new.
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Let us learn from one another
Learn to love each other
Teach us Your ways