Ash Wednesday

VISION AND MISSION STATEMENT:

We will be a Christ-centered spiritual community
that connects with and serves people from all walks of life.
We strive to be a beacon of hope where love is generous, and diversity is valued. 
We will meet people where they are, encourage their personal faith journey, and share God’s love throughout our wider community.

The core belief of Care and Share Food Bank is that no one should go hungry. Care and Share‘s mission is to provide food, partnering opportunities and education to fight hunger and food insecurity across 31 counties in southern Colorado.

Care and Share was founded by sister Dominique Pisciotta in 1972 as she saw many who struggled with hunger and decided to do something about it. Seven downtown churches supported her efforts.

Care and Share began by distributing food baskets that were put together in volunteers’ basements. It then grew into a dedicated two-car garage on South Wahsatch, evolving into the present day’s large, well-equipped centers in Colorado Springs and Pueblo that provide food to a network of 291 partners. Mobile markets and pantries for those with limited access to grocery stores are available.

Food is donated or received at low-cost from suppliers, community partners, and federal programs. One dollar provides five meals. Last year, 22,600,000 pounds of food were allocated to 256,740 people. Almost 10,000 children took nutritious food home to their families through children’s programs.

Last year St Paul’s generously donated $840 to this remarkable agency. May we prayerfully consider increasing our gifts this year? Since Care and Share is able to purchase food at a greatly reduced cost, financial donations are preferred. You may donate on the church website, use the QR code or write a check to St Paul’s with the memo February Mission: Care and Share .

“The King will reply, ‘I will tell you the truth. Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:40 NIV

~Missions Committee

Each communion Sunday thereafter we will have a basket for those who feel called to give above and beyond their pledge. This "second-mile" giving will help fund the pastor's discretionary fund, which helps meet community needs as they arise, such as gas, lodging, clothing, etc. Feel free to bring your spare cash and change to help make a change in the lives of those in need.

Prelude                  
Stephanie Shorden
 
Welcome                
Rev. David Petty

Threshold            
Rev. David Petty
 
Leader: Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lent season, a time when we aspire to make some room for deeper introspection and practices that will draw us into the love and assurance of faith. But sometimes faith can feel not as assured as we hoped for. We can feel “less than,” perceiving that others seem to be able to be “more faithful” in their practices and beliefs. This Lent, rather than change for “the best,” we’ll seek to gain momentum one day at a time, “to reach for a faith that is never perfect, but good enough.”

Threshold Song      
Good Enough  
Stephanie Shorden

What in our lives
do we dream about for tomorrow, 
void of sorrow?
 
Time spent regretting 
decisions of our yesterdays, 
mistakes we made?
 
Sometimes we get what we get,
life disappoints us and yet,
God is still here and somehow,
this faith is good enough.

Calling on God
CLM Twinkle Gordon
 
Leader: Let us pray together:

People: Holy One, Merciful God, make yourself known to us. Be present with us in this often-troubled journey of life. Create in us hearts that are open to transformation. Give us the patience of practice in this Lent season–ordering our days with time enough for you. Amen.
 
Opening Hymn
Be Thou My Vision
#451
 
1. Be thou my vision,
O Lord of my heart;
naught be all else to me,
save that thou art.
 
Thou my best thought,
by day or by night,
waking or sleeping,
thy presence my light.
 
2. Be thou my wisdom,
and thou my true word;
I ever with thee
and thou with me, Lord;
 
thou and thou only,
first in my heart,
great God of heaven,
my treasure thou art.
 
3. Great God of heaven,
my victory won,
may I reach heaven’s joys,
O bright heaven’s Sun!
 
Heart of my own heart,
whatever befall,
still be my vision,
O Ruler of all.

Honest Questions, Compassionate Response
Pastor Donnie Sturgill
 
Leader: Jesus used the word “hypocrite” to describe those who put on airs in public to make people believe that they were holy, that their religious practice was… well… perfect. But their hearts were actually not in the practice, rather in the rewards that public approval could bring them–which is here today, often gone tomorrow. Sometimes it is life itself that robs us of the shiny, perfect life that we had planned for ourselves. A diagnosis. A broken heart. A lost opportunity. What places in your life and faith could you begin to loose from the chains of perfectionism? Let us take a moment of silent reflection…

Silent Reflection           
 Rev. David Petty

Leader: Hear this compassionate word from the prophet Isaiah: “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?… Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly.”

Know that already, God is offering us
freedom from the bonds of perfectionism,
inviting us to break the yoke of what “should be” so that we might discover what “might be” when we honor the small steps that are actually possible, in this moment, for this one day.
 
And know, that despite our sometimes faltering steps, in the name of Jesus Christ, you are being forgiven, even now.
 
People: In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven. Glory to God! Amen.

Hymn
Come and Fill Our Hearts    
TFWS #2157  x2
 
Come and fill our hearts
with your peace.
You alone, O Lord,
are holy.
 
Come and fill our hearts
with your peace,
Alleluia!
 
Gospel Reading     
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
CLM Twinkle Gordon

Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
 
So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
 
And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
 
And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
 
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

A Word of God that is still speaking,

People: Thanks be to God.

Message                    
Perfectionism is impossible. Transformation isn’t.
Pastor Donnie Sturgill

Ritual of Ashes                    
Rev. David Petty

Leader: We are reminded in the Ritual of Ashes that we are part of the dust and debris of this earth. Just as things of creation grow but also die in the cycle of life, so too our lives have times of growth and times of decay and death. Placing the sign of the cross on our foreheads with ashes is a reminder of this difficult reality but also a reminder of the presence of God, the grace of Christ, and the power of the Spirit in all of it. Early Christians were anointed with the sign of the cross on their foreheads at their baptism. This “sign and seal,” as it is called, is a way to remember that we are marked and held as God’s own, through all of the transformations and transitions we face.

You are invited come down for the imposition of ashes. If you are unable to walk down to the front of the sanctuary, we will go to you.

After Donnie, Twinkle, or I draw a cross of ashes on your forehead, you may kneel at the railing, light a prayer candle, or return directly to your seats.

After you return to your seats, you may silently pray or meditate.

Closing Hymn
Sing Out! We’re Made of Common Dust

Sing out! We're made of common dust;
One day, to dust we shall return!
Yet, God, you've placed your mark on us
And so for you our spirits yearn.
 
This gift of ashes we receive
Reminds us we belong to you.
You call us to repent, believe,
and seek your Way in all we do.
 
The dust and dirt of children's play,
of youthful times, of working years
Are part of life — and life's decay;
We wash the dust with sorrow's tears.
 
We sing, O God, of what you give:
This ash reminds us we are yours.
In life we're claimed, in death we live!
In Christ our life, your love endures.

A Blessing Before a Fast        
Rev. David Petty
 
Leader:  As Kate and Jessica say in their book, “a fast is giving up something—anything—to make more room for God. It might be a break from social media or Netflix, caffeine, unkind words, alcohol, or holding a grudge. If you are someone who has a complicated relationship with restricting food, skip that for now. Try something else instead. Remember, this isn’t about punishing yourself or a thinly veiled version of a diet. Share your intention with a friend to reinforce your commitment, but do your fast in secret—just between you and God. Try it out for a week, and then reassess.”

And so, each worship experience will end with a blessing from the book. Here is “A Blessing Before a Fast.”
 
Blessed are you, ready to open yourself to a new joy, a doorway that until now has been hidden. In this culture of acquisition and gain, blessed are you desiring fresh ears to hear what might be a bit too loud. Who take the next step to turn it down a notch and make more space for God. Who discipline yourself, with time, intention, and hope, anticipating God to show up in your discomfort. Trusting that when we need God, God promises to be there.

God, give me courage, give me strength, give me hunger for you. Let this set time of less be a chance for more of you. Let this fast be an entrance into the discernment I desire, the divine presence I’m longing for, and the hope to will what You will, oh God, to be who You’ve called me to be.”
 
Benediction                  
Pastor Donnie Sturgill

And now, may the God who loves all of creation, especially the imperfect bits,
and Jesus, our companion along this crooked path called life, and the Holy Spirit, who loves to improvise in surprising ways, go with you, dwell among you, and give you joy. Amen.

Postlude                         
Stephanie Shorden