Prayer
Ash Wednesday | February 22, 2012 | Christ Church Davis
All: Almighty God, you have created us out of the dust of the earth: Grant that these ashes may be a sign of our mortality and penitence, that we may remember that it is only by your gracious gift that we are given everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
Imposition of Ashes Benediction Prayer
Minister: May God the Father, who does not despise the broken spirit, give you a contrite heart. May Christ, who bore our sins in his body on the tree, heal you by his wounds. May the Holy Spirit, who leads us into all truth, speak to you words of pardon and peace. All: Amen.
Song: Come, Ye Sinners Come, ye sinners, poor and needy, weak and wounded, sick and sore; Jesus ready stands to save you, full of pity, love and power; Come, ye needy, come and welcome, God's free bounty glorify; True belief and true repentance, every grace that brings you nigh. Let not conscience make you linger; Nor of fitness fondly dream: All the fitness he requires, is to feel your need of him. Come, ye weary, heavy-laden, bruised and broken by the fall, If you tarry till you're better, you will never come at all; I will arise and go to Jesus, He will embrace me in His arms. In the arms of my dear Savior, oh, there are ten thousand charms. Minister: Ever mindful of our frailty, and through humble reliance on Christ alone, let us go forth to serve the world as those who love our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All: Thanks be to God! Out of respect for those who wish to remain in silence, please refrain from talking until outside the sanctuary.
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. By the fourth century the Western church determined that the Lenten period of fasting and renewal should correspond to Christ’s forty-day fast, and, by counting forty days back from Easter (excluding Sundays, which remain “Feast” and Resurrection Celebration days), arrived at the Wednesday seven weeks before Easter. At one time Lent was primarily viewed as a period during which converts prepared for baptism on Easter Sunday, but later the season became a general time of penitence and renewal for all Christians. The sacrament of baptism will take on a special meaning within our congregation this year as we explore together what it means to die and rise with Christ. Join us at Christ Church as we experience Lent together, looking forward to our culminating Easter Baptismal Service on April 8, 2012. The aim of Ash Wednesday worship is threefold: to meditate on our mortality, sinfulness, and need of a savior; to renew our commitment to daily repentance in the Lenten season and in all of life; and to remember with confidence and gratitude that Christ has conquered death and sin. Ash Wednesday worship, then, is filled with gospel truth. It is a witness to the power and beauty of our union with Christ and to the daily dying and rising with Christ that this entails.