Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. (Genesis 3:19)
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. It begins a journey of turning back toward God. It is a day when we call all of our sins out from their dark corners. Lent is a time of confessions and a season of healing.
Ash Wednesday is often observed in worship by receiving a cross of ashes on the forehead because they are symbols for repentance of being sorry for our sins. The ashes also remind us of the Old Testament phrase, "sackcloth and ashes," suggesting deep sorrow and penitence that will continue for 40 days.
By observing Ash Wednesday, you will be ready to start the pilgrimage to follow Christ through the next forty days of the Lenten journey.
Let's make a humble commitment to go with Christ up Calvary's hill where our mortality is joined to His, and on to the dawn of Resurrection Sunday where we, too, will be resurrected into a brand new life.
Rev. Margaret Minnicks
