ash wednesday

“So let us be marked not for sorrow. And let us be marked not for shame. Let us be marked not for false humility  or for thinking we are less than we are but for claiming what God can do within the dust, within the dirt, within the stuff of which the world is made,Continue reading “Ash Wednesday”

Ash Wednesday Prayer Service

Ash Wednesday is next week, March 6. We have prepared an Ash Wednesday prayer service for those of you who cannot make it to church or who would like to celebrate with the homebound or those in nursing homes. If you have a little bit of palm from last Palm Sunday, burn it to makeContinue reading “Ash Wednesday Prayer Service”

Prayer For Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday, one of the most popular holy days in the church year. Most of us will try to get to church during the day to receive a cross of ashes on our foreheads. If you are unable to do that, use this prayer service to begin Lent. Gather with your family orContinue reading “Prayer For Ash Wednesday”

The Legacy of Dust

And to dust we shall return. I’ve been thinking a lot about bodies lately. And Ash Wednesday always invites me to think about the end of my body’s existence. It will, one day, be dust. Elizabeth Alexander in her memoir The Light of the World, writes about her husband dying. She sees the moment whenContinue reading “The Legacy of Dust”

Lent: A New Beginning

On Ash Wednesday we hear “Remember, you are human.” That is not bad news. After all, Jesus was human, too. Make the most of your humanity this Lent. Be the best you can be. Here are 12 more ways to choose from as you add color to your Lenten cross. If you have not downloadedContinue reading “Lent: A New Beginning”

Ash Wednesday: A New Beginning

Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, is next Wednesday. If you have not downloaded the Lent 2016 cross from Good Ground Press, do so now. You can begin adding color to the cross by choosing from the activities below. The spaces on the cross are color-coded. Plant activities are green Simplify activities are yellow PrayContinue reading “Ash Wednesday: A New Beginning”

Dust

Our church has three Ash Wednesday services, one of which is a family service. The children’s choir sings, and the pastor sets a bowl of palms on fire during the sermon, burning them into ashes. Each family is given a Lenten daily devotional book full of prayers created by children. “Truly I tell you, unlessContinue reading “Dust”

A New Lent

At my grandparents’ house, yellowed palm leaves were seemingly ever-present behind the silver-framed mirror that hung on the wall near their front door. Immediately after Palm Sunday, the palms would add a splash of green to the mauves and light blues of the room. Yet as the church year wore on, the palms would fadeContinue reading “A New Lent”

Spiritual Through Physical

“As you may know,” my friend wrote me, “it can be challenging to remember the holy and divine.” I do know. It can be challenging, indeed. She said this in a conversation about remaining kosher. She continued, “Kosher is a way for us to be challenged on a daily mundane scale to give literal foodContinue reading “Spiritual Through Physical”