UNION CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF HANCOCK
We respect tradition — and we welcome inclusive language about people and expansive language about God. Please pray using words most meaningful to you.
Open and Affirming of ALL God’s Children
Ash Wednesday - Soup and Service at Noon
February 14, 2024
This service will be in-person and on Zoom at 12:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)
(Posted for later viewing on Facebook and YouTube)
Meeting ID: 822 2425 2518
Passcode: 755650
Silent Prayer
God of quiet love, turn me away from wordiness and things
and toward your silence, grace, and restoration. Amen
* Indicates points in the service when we stand in body or spirit
Announcements
Prelude I surrender All Arr. Janet Vogt
Welcome
Introit Be Still, My Soul (v. 1) B. #488
Be still, my soul: for God is on your side. bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to your God to order and provide; in every change, God faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: your best eternal friend through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
*Call to Worship
One: We come to worship God as the Lenten season begins,
All: aware of our frailty and our failings.
One: We come seeking God’s mercy,
All: acknowledging our mortality.
One: Having received the waters of baptism, we are marked now with ashes.
All: The treasures of this earth do not last; our treasure is in heaven, our heart’s true home.
*Hymn O Lord, Hear My Prayer R. #199
O Lord, hear my prayer. O Lord, hear my prayer, when I call answer me.
O Lord hear my prayer. O Lord hear my prayer. Come and listen to me.
*Invocation (spoken in unison)
Renew us, God, with your presence as we begin this journey of transformation. Restore us as we strive to be our most compassionate selves. Revive us when we feel that all is lost. Help us to mend what has broken, for the sake of justice and mercy as we walk humbly with you. Amen
New Testament Reading (Christian Scriptures) Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Special Music Andante Rubinstein/ Smith
Confession of Sin UCC Book of Worship
One: As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to struggle against everything that leads us away from the love of God and neighbor. Repentance, fasting, prayer, study, and works of love help us return to that love. I invite you therefore, to commit yourselves to love God and neighbor by asking God for strength to persevere in your Lenten discipline. Let us pray…
All: Most holy and merciful God: We confess to you and to one another, and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth, that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
One: We have not loved you with all our heart, mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others as we have been forgiven.
All: Have mercy on us, O God.
One: We confess to you, O God, the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience in our lives; our anger at our own frustration and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves.
All: We confess to you, O God.
One: Accept our repentance, O God, for the wrongs we have done, for our neglect of human need and suffering and our indifference to injustice and for our prejudice toward those who differ from us.
All: Accept our repentance, O God. Restore us into right relationship with you and all of your kin-dom. Amen
Blessing the Dust Jan Richardson
Imposition of Ashes
All in the sanctuary are invited to come forward to receive ashes on their foreheads or hands.
All those at home are invited to impart ashes together or individually.
Remember that you are God’s beloved dust, and to God’s beloved dust you shall return.
*Hymn Eat This Bread R. #195
Eat this bread, drink this cup, come to me and never be hungry.
Eat this bread, drink this cup, trust in me and you will not thirst.
Meal
Discussion Prompts
1) Is it possible to give without seeking congratulations (even from yourself)? Can we really give in a way that we “do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing”? What might this look like? 2) Have you ever found the church “disappointing”?
3) Both “logic” and “science” are supportive of faith, not antithetical to it – in part because the sciences encourage us to reflect on realities we can’t touch or see. Do you agree or disagree?
*Hymn Lord, Dismiss Us with Your Blessing (vs. 1) R. #333
Lord, dismiss us with your blessing; fill our hearts with joy and peace;
let us each, your love possessing, triumph in redeeming grace:
oh, refresh us, oh, refresh us, traveling through this wilderness.
A Blessing for Ash Wednesday Beloved Is Where We Begin Jan Richardson
Postlude Wayfaring Stranger Spiritual/ Folk Song Arr. H Livingston Jr.
Many thanks to those who helped make this service possible –
in front of the camera and behind the scenes.
Music Minister – Debbie Riley
Deacon –
Graphics – Cynthia Wood
Office Administrator – Vicky Espling
Settled Minister – Rev. TJ Mack
The Body of Christ – You
Support our Church Financially
Please visit Hancock (Maine) UCC on Facebook or our new webpage www.hancockucc.com
(please note that www.hancockucc.org still exists as an archival site)
or visit this link to our PayPal account: paypal.me/hancockucc or mail offerings to:
Union Congregational Church, PO Box 443, Hancock, ME 04640 (Attention: Treasurer)
Contact Us
207.422.3100 207.323.6743
Resources
Worship Ways and Feasting on the Word: Worship Companion and
Salt Project – C.S. Lewis Lenten Study Guide
"Permission to podcast / stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE, License #A-738532. All rights reserved.”
Be Still, My Soul
Words and Music - ©2010 Hal Leonard Corporation (select catalogs)
Contributors: Katharina von Schlegel, Jane L. Borthwick, Jean Sibelius
O Lord, Hear My Prayer
Words and Music - ©1982 Taizé, Les Presses de (North America)
Contributors: Jacques Berthier, Taizé Community
Eat This Bread
Words and Music - ©1984 Taizé, Les Presses de (North America)
Contributors: Jacques Berthier, Taizé Community
Lord, Dismiss Us with Your Blessing
Words and Music - © Public Domain
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