Online Worship - Wednesday, February 17, 2021
Sermon: Dust to Dust
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Return to me with all your heart
~ Joel 2:12
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This Ash Wednesday worship service marks the beginning of the Christian season of Lent. The season of Lent began as a time of preparation for new believers who were to be baptized at Easter. Over time, others began to share this journey of preparation, and the season became a significant part of the church’s journey through the year.
During Lent, we turn to God through repentance, fellowship, prayer, fasting, and concentrate upon our baptismal covenant as we prepare to share in the death and resurrection of Christ. The use of ashes in this service is a sign of our mortality and need for repentance. Ashes remind us of the fragility of human devotion and of how quickly we can go from celebrating Christ’s love and power to participation in those acts that led to his crucifixion. Receiving ashes remind us that God’s love, which was so deeply revealed upon the cross, is triumphant over sin and death. In Christ, mortality is overcome for us and we are set free to trust in the promise of the resurrection.
Instructions for Online Worship: During the service, we will invite you to add a few drops of oil to the ash mix. You can use any oil, although olive oil is traditional. Mix together to make a paste. When instructed, place the ash paste on your thumb or forefinger and make the sign of the cross on your forehead. If you have others in your household, you can apply to each other. *Please do NOT mix the ashes with water as it will make lye and it can cause skin irritation or burning.*
If you do not have ashes, you are welcome to use dirt from the earth, or use this moment as a time of prayer.
Please register your attendance here! You can also list prayer requests as well. To be added to the Prayer Chain click here.
See below for the Order of Worship.
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Sunday Worship
February 17, 2021 - 7:30 PM
Dust to Dust
The Order of Service
Welcome to Trinity online.
As we prepare for a time of worship, we invite you to find an intentional space in your home for worship. We encourage you to light a candle or place something that
reminds you of Trinity or your connection with God nearby. Children are invited
to take out their worship boxes to prepare for worship.
Prelude: Prelude Largo from Concerto in G ~ George Philipp Telemann
Elisha Miller, viola
Welcome and Announcements
As we light our candles in the sanctuary, I invite you to join us in lighting your own candle at home. As we place the cross in the holder, we invite you to place something that reminds you of Trinity or your connection with God in front of you.
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Call to Worship:
Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful.
Let us Return to the Lord.
Return with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.
Let us Return to the Lord.
Return to the Lord who forgives our sins and heals our brokenness.
Let us Return to the Lord.
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Hymn: What Wondrous Love is This - Hymnal no. 292
The United Methodist Hymnal ©1989 The United Methodist Publishing House. All rights reserved.
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Unison Prayer:
O God, creator of all and judge of all that you have made,
from the dust of the earth you have formed us
and from the dust of death you would raise us up.
May the ashes placed upon our foreheads this day remind us of who we are,
and whose we are.
Draw us back to you, O God,
for you are gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.
Heal the hardness of our hearts,
that we may be faithful disciples of your Son, Jesus Christ,
the ones who makes all things new. Amen.
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2 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming, it is near- 2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness spread upon the mountains a great and powerful army comes; their like has never been from of old, nor will be again after them in ages to come.
12 Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 13 rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing. 14 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD, your God? 15 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly; 16 gather the people. Sanctify the congregation; assemble the aged; gather the children, even infants at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her canopy. 17 Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep. Let them say, “Spare your people, O Lord, and do not make your heritage a mockery, a byword among the nations. Why should it be said among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”
The Word of God for the People of God. Thanks be to God.
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Solo: Create in Me ~ Michael Larkin
Elisha Miller, soprano
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence; Take not Thy holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation; And uphold me with your free spirit. Amen.
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Psalm: Psalm 51:1-17
Please sing the Response after the organ and then the soloist introduce it. Then sing the Response, without introduction, at each bold R.
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4b In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5 when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; 6 but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground— 7 then the Lord God formed the human from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the human became a living being. 8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the human whom he had formed. 9 Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
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Solo: Speak to Me in Ashes ~ Douglas Nolan
Speak to me in ashes, speak to me in tears, whisper to the silence in my soul. Lord, I wait in stillness, ready now to hear. Speak to me in ashes and in tears. Speak to me in silence, speak to me your peace. Touch me heart and still my troubled mind. Words of calm assurance, all my fears release. Speak to me in silence, give me peace. My heart is open to receive Your Grace, here in these shadows, let me feel Your sure embrace. Speak to me with mercy, speak to me in love, by Your Word my spirit is reborn. Echoes of compassion sounding from above. Speak to me in mercy and in love.
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Invitation to the Observance of Lenten Discipline
Thanksgiving over Ashes and Imposition of Ashes
Instructions: If you picked up ashes from the church, you are invited to add a few drops of oil (olive oil is traditional, but you can use other forms of oil) to the ashes and mix. **Please do NOT use water to mix with ashes as the mixture will become lye.**
Once you have your ash mix prepared, after saying a prayer, place your thumb or forefinger into the mix and put it on your forehead, making the sign of the cross. If you have other people in your household, you are invited to impose ashes on each other.
If you do not have ashes, you are welcome to use dirt from the earth, or use this moment as a time of prayer.
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Unison Prayer of Confession: (based on Psalm 51)
Holy God,
wash us thoroughly of our iniquity and cleanse us from our sin.
For our transgressions are ever before us,
and we have done what is evil in your sight.
You desire truth in our inward being;
yet we turn our back on the wisdom you would impart to our hearts.
Create in us a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within us.
Do not cast us away from your presence,
and do not take your Holy Spirit from us.
Forgive our sins, and lead us in your paths anew,
that we might teach transgressors your ways
and lead sinners to return to you. Amen.
Silent Prayer of Confession
Words of Assurance
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Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father,
who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
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Hymn: Depth of Mercy - Hymnal no. 355
The United Methodist Hymnal ©1989 The United Methodist Publishing House. All rights reserved.
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Dismissal with Blessing:
During this time, children are invited to take one of the stickers and place it on your clothing to remember that you are sent into the world remembering the love of God and Jesus Christ.
Postlude: Ave Verum ~ W.A.Mozart
Elisha Miller, viola
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Music Notes
Today’s Solo: Dr. Michael Larkin (b. 1951) has over 300 compositions in print with many of the nation's leading publishing houses and has gained a national reputation as a composer and arranger of both sacred and secular music. Today's solo, from the SATB anthem, is based on the familiar words of Psalm 51:10-12. It was composed in 2018 for the St. Barnabas Episcopal Church Chancel Choir in Wilmington, Delaware where Larkin serves as Director of Music Ministry. In addition, he is director of the New Ark Chorale and conductor of the Brandywine Pops Orchestra. © 2018 Birnamwood Publications (ASCAP) A division of MorningStar Music Publishers, Inc. St. Louis, MO All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-713613. All rights reserved.
Today’s Solo with words by Karen Crane and music by Douglas Nolan was composed in 2019. Lyrics are based on the following Scriptures: Ezekiel 9:4; Genesis 3:19; Job 42:5-6; Joel 2:12-18; and Psalm 46:10. The melody in minor captures the ebb and flow of the lyric. The SATB anthem, tonight heard as a solo, is a call to quietness, invoking the fundamental lessons of Lent: to listen, learn and live. notes from Hal Leonard Publishing House anthem description. © 2019 Hal Leonard LLC and Hal Leonard-Milwin Corp. International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-713613. All rights reserved.
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In the Footsteps of Jesus, Lenten Sermon Series (February 21 - April 4, 2021): What does it mean to walk in the footsteps of Jesus? During the season of Lent, we will walk in the physical footsteps of Jesus Christ, tracing his ministry journey from the Jordan River where he was baptized to Jerusalem, where he spent his final days. As we walk in the footsteps of Jesus, we see how Jesus lived, how he treated others, what he taught, and the everyday choices he made. What does Jesus’ journey teach us about how we are to live this Lenten season? Join us as we consider what it means to live in the footsteps of Jesus.
Lenten Small Group Bible Study- Join Pastor Grace and our Program Director Hannah for a 5 week Wednesday night Bible study from February 24th-March 24th from 7:30-8:30 PM. We will have time to build community and dive deeply into the scripture for the upcoming Sunday. We highly encourage folks to join for all 5 weeks, as we hope to grow deeper in community and deeply dwell in the Word of God. Email Hannah Day Donoghue by February 21st to sign up for this Zoom study.
Pick up Lenten Kits: The Christian Formation team is putting together Lenten Kits to guide us in our journey in the footsteps of Jesus. Each kit includes weekly devotionals, meditations and additional activities for ALL ages to help us to better understand and walk with Jesus throughout the season of Lent. The activities will include things we will reference each week in worship. You can pick up your Lenten Kit from the plastic bin outside the Church Office through next Wednesday, February 24th. If you can’t make that pick up, please let us know and we can arrange to deliver or mail you your kit. For additional questions, contact Trinity Program Director, Hannah Day Donoghue.
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Order your Easter Lilies & Azaleas today! The Flower Committee invites you to reserve an Easter Lily or Pink Azalea for our Easter Sunday services. Plants are $25 each. Please pay electronically here, choose Flower Fund (765) and comment what type of plant(s) you wish to reserve. Our Office Manager, Jenessa Stokes will confirm your order and request the dedication you wish to have printed in the bulletin for Easter Sunday. Plants will be available for pick up at the Church on Easter Sunday after worship. Please know that all proceeds help us cover the costs of flowers, wreaths, and supplies throughout the year. For questions or assistance contact the Church Office.
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Celebrate Easter at Trinity |
Sunday, March 28th at 11 AM - Palm Sunday Worship service online
Monday, March 29th - Saturday April 4th Holy Week, Special Sign Up for Holy Week Stations of the Cross @ Church
Friday, April 2nd at 7:30 PM - Good Friday Service of Tenebrae
Sunday, April 4th at 8 AM - “Sunrise” Easter Worship with Communion in the Courtyard
Sunday, April 4th at 11 AM - Traditional Easter Worship online
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