Ash Wed Ceremony

I’m just reissuing this post to display the piece of artwork that we used for our Ash Wednesday ceremony.

 

For Ash Wednesday, we had our worshippers form a single file line, during an evening worship service, approach a poster with a cross drawn on it, and made a smudge of a cross, out of ashes, onto the poster.  They were asked to think about their sins and what Jesus accomplished on the cross for their sins as they approached the station.  During this ash ceremony, we played a worship DVD video marketed by Integrity Worship of a song entitled “At the Foot of the Cross (Beauty into Ashes) by Kathryn Scott.  Don’t forget to provide some sort of wipes so your people can clean their hands after handling the ashes.

 

 

One word of advice, if you try this, use a rough canvass like paper that will easily accept the ashes as glossy paper just makes a mess.

 

 

This photo is the finished product of our worship.  It has the fingerprints, in the shape of a cross, for each worshipper in attendance that night.

 

photo taken by : Melissa Vandermause (2/28/2009)

Ash Wed – Song Choice

Ash Wed – Song Choices

The Psalm that we usually use on Ash Wednesday is Psalm 51.  This is a great penetential Psalm.  Everytime I read it, I am amazed by how familiar I am with certain parts of it, because we use it in our liturgies all the time.  There’s a nice contemporary song based on this Psalm; it’s “Change My Heart, Oh God” by Eddie Espinosa and its in both the LAPPY and BOB songbooks (songs 38 and 33 respectively).

The message is short and simple, yet voices a beautiful prayer:

Change my heart oh God
Make it ever true
Change my heart oh God
May I be like You

You are the potter
I am the clay
Mold me and make me
This is what I pray

CCLI Song No. 1565
© 1982 Mercy / Vineyard Publishing (Admin. by Music Services)
Eddie Espinosa

The song uses two sections of scripture, combined together into a prayer, asking God to change our lives.  I emphasize the point that music does not change our lives – the Holy Spirit does.

 

Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.  – Isa 64:8

 

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  – Ps 51:10

 

The song is “congregational friendly” and is easily learned.

By the way, if you are ever looking for a supplier of either Palm fronds or ashes, we use the following:   www.stpatricksguild.com

Ash Wed – Responsive Reading

Pastor:              Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent.  The date is set by counting back forty days from Easter (excluding Sundays), which takes us to the Wednesday seven weeks before Easter.  Why forty days?  Each day symbolizes one of the forty days when Jesus fasted in the wilderness, before Satan tempted Him.

Congr:At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan.  He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.  –  Mark 1:12-13

Pastor:              Ashes are a reminder, in Scripture, of our mortality and frailty resulting from the curse of the Fall.

 

Congr:”Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, – Genesis 18:27b

Pastor:              The Bible also uses ashes as a sign of sorrow or repentance.

 

Congr:Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the ornamented robe she was wearing.  She put her hand on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went. – 2 Samuel 13:19

Men:               We are to produce fruit in keeping with repentance.  – Matthew 3:8

Women:          We must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.  Acts 20:21

Men:               We are to Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.  – Matthew 3:2

Pastor:            The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.  He is patient with us, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.  – 2 Peter 3:9

Congr.:            We are to Repent and be baptized, all of us, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.  And we will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  – Acts 2:38

Pastor:              If we repent, and turn to God, so that our sins may be wiped out; times of refreshing may come from the Lord,  – Acts 3:19

Scripture text NIV (Emphasis mine)

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.  Used by permission of International Bible Society