March 6: Ash Wednesday Service

Ash Wednesday is the first of the forty days of Lent, a time of reflection and penitence leading up to Easter. In the bible, ashes are a sign of grief or shame for wrongdoing (e.g. Job 42:6; Daniel 9:3; Isaiah 61:3; Esther 4:3; 2 Samuel 13:19). The pastor makes the sign of the cross on each worshipers' forehead with ashes and reminds them of Genesis 3:19: For dust you are, and to dust you shall return. Rev. John Norman and Jami Champagne administering.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Psalm 51:10-12