Wednesday, March 5, 2025
Ash Wednesday
Joel 2:1–2, 12–17 | "Trembling"

Call to Worship (Inspired by Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
One: Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming, it is near.
Many:  Gather the people to turn to the Holy One who is gracious, merciful, and abounding love.
One: Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! The days are bleak and filled with gloom yet rend your hearts and not your clothing. 
Many: Feast on righteousness and fast from hopeless, apathy, and despair. Even now, God calls us to reflect, repent, and return.
One: Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Why should it be said among the peoples, 'Where is their God?'"
Many: Declare the sovereignty of God in word and deed, in compassion and solidarity, in trust and faith! Blow the trumpet! Sound the alarm!

Invocation
Holy One, open our hearts, lips, minds, and spirits, and we will declare your praise. We gather in your name and in your presence to worship you, to reorient our lives in your kindom, and to direct our attention toward you. May your power flow through us as spirit meets spirit. As we reflect upon your goodness and the needs of the world, stir our hearts toward compassion and our lives toward active participation in your realm. Hear our prayers, delight in our songs, and speak through our words. May it be so. Amen.

Prayer for Transformation and New Life
2 Corinthians 6:1 declares, "As we work together with him, we retreat you also not to accept the grace of God in vain." 
Holy God, we need your grace towards us and for us to extend to ourselves and others. Help us be agents of your kindom and citizens of your realm. May our love and compassion have no borders or bounds. Release us from unforgiveness and condemnation in favor of restoration and redemption. Let your way direct, transform, and compel us as your witnesses in the world. Let our feast or fasting not be in vain but a testament to your presence among us and within us. In the name of the Author or Redemptive Love, we pray. Amen. 

Words of Grace
Beloved, the Holy One is at work with you. You have the power and authority of the Most High as your Companion and Source. Through the Spirit, transformation and new life are yours to claim and proclaim. Receive the gift of grace and mercy given without condemnation so that you may be free to love, to live, and to be as crafted through the Breath of Life. .

Communion and Ritual of Breath and Ashes
One: Each day invites us to remember the sacred nature of life. Every breath we take, whether unconscious and easy or labored and shaky, connects us with creation. We inhale elements of stardust, shaped and reshaped from the dawn of time and Creator's "Let there be" declarations. We too are dust creations, from the richness of the earth and the vastness of the universe, until our last breath returns us as seeds of new life, new being, new creation. 
Many: We are dust. We are oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, calcium, and phosphorus.
One:  We are made of stars. We will reshape the universe. 
Many: We are God's good creation.
One: Inhale the elements of life. Take a breath, deep or shallow, in gratitude that you have received the breath of life. (pause) Exhale and fuel creation around you with the essence of your being. (pause) Inhale and exhale and remember that you are part of God's beloved creation. 
Many: We are God's beloved creation.
One: You are dust and so much more than that. You are living, breathing, powerful co-creators with the One who set the heavens and the earth into motion. Your life matters, and you have the power of God at work in you and through you. 
Many: We are the Holy One's co-creators.

One: Beloved, as Jesus considered and faced their own mortality, they shared a meal with their disciples. They embraced those who still had questions and doubts as well as  those who had betrayed him and would deny him. God with Us prepared that table and extends the invitation today to all of us who will receive the grace, hope, and love offered in the kindom of God. This table blesses us with community, acceptance, and courage to be the people the Holy One has called us to be. 
Many: We accept the invitation to commune with Jesus and one another as a community of God's beloved, created from stardust to be co-creators of the kindom and seeds of renewed life.

One: On that night of betrayal, desertion, and despair, Jesus took the bread, blessed it, and gave it to the disciples, saying: "This is my broken body for you. Eat this bread in remembrance of me." After supper, Jesus took the cup, gave thanks for it, and offered it to the disciples, saying, "This is the cup of the new covenant. Drink this cup in remembrance of me." 
Receiving the bread of divine solidarity and the cup of grace-filled redemption, we proclaim that Christ lived and died; Christ rose and lived; Christ lives and comes again.
Holy and Righteous God, the table has been set with the fullness of your love. We are in awe. May Spirit consecrate these gifts as you sanctify those who gather in your name at this table. Restore our hope, steady our lives, and empower us in your truth. 
Many: Bless this feast as we dine with you, Source, Christ, and Spirit.

Sharing of Bread and Cup

Marking with Ashes: 
"Remember you are God's beloved dust/stardust/creation."

Holy One, thank you for this precious meal served with grace, mercy, and love. Ignite and strengthen us with compassion, faith, and boldness in proclaiming your good news, following your path, and pursuing flourishing life for all creation. In the fullness of life, we breathe amen. Amen.

Invitation to Generosity
The gifts of God flow with abundance, mercy, and love. Let us give in the spirit of the ultimate Giver and for the benefit of the kindom of God. 

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Dedication
Holy and Generous One, receive our gifts of thanksgiving and hope as we share our resources to support the ministries of this faith community, the wider church, and the world. May our offerings meet needs, change lives, and proclaim the goodness of God in the land of the living. Amen.

Benediction
As you go and embark on this season of reflection and introspection,
Remember you are beloved
Stardush, breath, and seed, 
Agents of transformation,
Participants of the kindom,
And the Body of Christ on Earth.
Go, with the power of the Spirit, the love of the Source, and the courage of Christ
To live this precious life 
In Boldness and Faith.

Trembling: Service Prayers for Ash Wednesday was written by the Rev. Dr. Cheryl A. Lindsay, Minister for Worship and Theology for the United Church of Christ.