Union Church, March 5, 2025
Rev. Christina Ryan Perkins, Sabbatical Pastor
Dr. Bernardo Scarambone, Director of Music
It’s one thing to speak of the Divine. It’s another
to walk under a tunnel of wisteria,
to stand barefoot at the edge of the sea,
to hear the birds sing as the sun returns
and whisper, Thank you, thank you, thank you.
It’s one thing and another, so I pray,
Give me both, please. Show me both, please. ~ Rev Sarah (Are) Speed
We Gather
¨ Call to Worship
One: If you have days when you feel a little bit lost and a little bit found,
All: then you are in the right place.
One: If you have days when you are desperate for rest and eager to grow,
All: then you are in the right place.
One: If you have days when your prayers could be both shouts and silence,
All: then you are in the right place.
One: God meets us here, in the messy middle of our lives.
All: So may we bring our full selves into this service and into this season.
One: With God’s help, may it be so.
All: Let us worship our all-loving God.
¨ Prayer of Approach & Confession
One: Jesus said, “Follow me.”
All: And I said, let me get ready.
One: Jesus said, “follow me.”
All: And I said, just one minute!
One: Jesus said, “Follow me.”
All: And I said, I’ll be there soon!
One: The invitation is simple, but the work is hard.
All: Jesus, forgive my delay. I want to follow you. Turn my intentions into actions. Show me the way. Amen.
Words of Assurance
One: Lent asks,
All: “How will you go deeper? How will you follow Christ?”
One: Regardless of what that journey looks like for us,
All: regardless of what today, tomorrow, or the next day brings,
One: we are not alone.
All: We are seen and loved by God.
One: We are held in grace.
All: Thanks be to God for a love like that.
Scripture Reading Luke 9:51, 57-62
When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” And Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Reflection “Through the [in] Between” Rev. Christina Ryan Perkins
Receiving Ashes
Singing Together Kyrie
Reprinted with permission using OneLicense #A-723786
Prayer of Invitation
One: Each day invites us to remember the sacred nature of life. Every breath we take, whether unconscious and easy or labored and shaky, connects us with creation. We inhale elements of stardust, shaped and reshaped from the dawn of time and Creator’s “Let there be” declarations.
We too are dust creations, from the richness of the earth and the vastness of the universe, until our last breath returns us as seeds of new life, new being, new creation.
All: We are dust. We are oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, calcium, and phosphorus.
One: We are made of stars. We will reshape the universe.
All: We are God’s good creation.
One: Inhale the elements of life. Take a breath, deep or shallow, in gratitude that you have received the breath of life. (pause) Exhale and fuel creation around you with the essence of your being. (pause) Inhale and exhale and remember that you are part of God’s beloved creation.
All: We are God’s beloved creation.
One: You are dust and so much more than that. You are living, breathing, powerful co-creators with the One who set the heavens and the earth into motion. Your life matters, and you have the power of God at work in you and through you.
All: We are the Holy One’s co-creators.
Receiving Ashes
Palm Sunday fronds were burnt and prepared for use on Ash Wednesday. The ashes, symbolizing sin and distance from God and our best selves, are mixed with oil, a sign of God’s blessing, forgiveness and anointing for special purpose. We begin our Lenten journey in humility and in hope by placing the ashes and oil on our heads or hands. You do not have to be a member of this church, or any church, to mark this sacred time and journey.
Musical Meditation
Singing Together Change My Heart, O God
We Go Forth
Affirmation of Faith
We believe in Jesus Christ, who said to ordinary people, “Follow me,” and with his love, changed the world. We believe in the Holy Spirit who tethers us to all of creation, nudging us toward deeper and more intentional faith.
And we believe in the Creator who brings the sun over the horizon each morning, allowing every day to be a new beginning. So with this new day, with Jesus’ invitation ringing in our ears, and the Holy Spirit’s tethering love, we realign our hopes with our words, our dreams with our prayers, our intentions with our actions. Jesus, we believe. Guide our feet. Amen.
Benediction
One: As you leave this place, may you find God in every messy middle.
May you know that the world is bigger than two sides.
May you trust that you are made in the image of God, and therefore, you contain multitudes.
So may you move through this world with an open heart, with a curious mind, and with the confidence that you do not go alone.
God is with you in the mountains, in the valleys, and everywhere in between. Believe that good news, and go in peace
Postlude
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