[In a darkened space, light one or several candles, with due caution, enough to illumine a cross or icon of choice]

Call to Worship

We gather in the dimness of evening
to be with the God who brightens
the shadows of our lives.

We gather in the quiet of this place,
to be with Jesus, knowing that nothing
past, present, or future separates us.

We gather to be marked as disciples,
to be fed for the journey through Lent,
to be sealed by the Spirit as God’s own. 

Confession

 

Opening Prayer

You wait on this evening,
Patient God, for us to come back:
to stop going away from you
   on our self-focused travels;
to set aside our empty fears;
to cease shaping you in our image,
   so we can discover you closer
   than we ever dare imagined.

You wait for us this night,

Companion of our hearts,
for us to follow once more:
leaving the shuttered corners
   of our lives;
refusing to go from one failed
   promise to another;
coming out of the panic rooms
   we have built in our souls,
so you can take us by the hand
to lead us to resurrection life.
 
You wait in scattered ashes of our lives,
Spirit of silence, for us to find you:
in the broken bread
   which strengthens us to serve;
in the cup of grace
   which fills our emptiness;
in our sisters and brothers
   who are willing to hold us up
   when we falter,
so you can embrace us
with joy and hope in every moment.
 
(Source: http://lectionaryliturgies.blogspot.com/2017/02/ash-wednesday-alternate-service.html)

Scripture (Joel 2:12-18)

Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;
Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return to the LORD, your God.
For gracious and merciful is he,
slow to anger, rich in kindness,
and relenting in punishment.
Perhaps he will again relent
and leave behind him a blessing,
Offerings and libations
for the LORD, your God.

Blow the trumpet in Zion!
proclaim a fast,
call an assembly;
Gather the people,
notify the congregation;
Assemble the elders,
gather the children
and the infants at the breast;
Let the bridegroom quit his room
and the bride her chamber.
Between the porch and the altar
let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep,
And say, “Spare, O LORD, your people,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
with the nations ruling over them!
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”

Then the LORD was stirred to concern for his land
and took pity on his people.

Chant Responsory

Gospel Mt 6:1-6,16-18 

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Take care not to perform righteous deeds
in order that people may see them;
otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
When you give alms,
do not blow a trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets
to win the praise of others.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
so that your almsgiving may be secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

"When you pray,
do not be like the hypocrites,
who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners
so that others may see them.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you pray, go to your inner room,
close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

"When you fast,
do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.
They neglect their appearance,
so that they may appear to others to be fasting.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you fast,
anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to be fasting,
except to your Father who is hidden.
And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you."

Optional Reflection (Pope Francis' Message for Lent 2021)

 http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/lent/documents/papa-francesco_20201111_messaggio-quaresima2021.html

Responsory

Go to the inner room, the secret chamber. Go to the inner room, the storehouse of God. Do not heap up empty words, vein repetitions. Like empty stammering, pray with the Spirit. Do not pray like hypocrites, like actors on a stage. Pray with sincerity, mean the words that you say. The inner room, the secret chamber. The inner room, the storehouse of God. The inner room, the secret chamber. The inner room, with God alone. Pray to your Father, who knows your secrets. He knows just what you need before you even ask. And forgive your enemies, their sins and transgressions. Forgive your enemies and you'll be forgiven. The inner room, the secret chamber. The inner room, the storehouse of God. The inner room, the secret chamber. The inner room, with God alone. Go to the inner room, with God alone.

Intercession

In the dark of night God calls to us;beckoning us on,seeking us out,calling us to peace,to quietness,to wholeness.

The world is dark around us,filled with coldness, terror and restlessness.

It is a darkness of our creation:greed, hatred, envy: brokenness.

Take us and heal us of every evil. Bring us back into the comfort and closenessof your embrace, O God.

Your cleansing love, O God,purifies our darkness restoring it to us:warm, comforting, restful: complete.

In the dark of our night we hear God call,offering love and strength and forgiveness.

With God the darkness brings comfort not fear,love not hatred,righteousness not punishment.

Walk in the darkness of your life as in the light,for both the dark and the light belong to God,as do you. Amen.

(Source: Lisa Frenz for the Mt. Carmel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Portland, Oregon.  https://sites.google.com/site/lisasliturgies/home. “Copyright © 1999 Lisa Frenz. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.")

 

(During the chant, lift up in prayer any person or situation for whom or for which you desire to pray).

Closing Chant

In manus tuas Pater, commendo spiritum meum, in manus tuas Pater, commendo spiritum meum.
Into your hands, Father, I commend my spirit.