Call to Worship

Leader:	Sound the trumpet in alarm! Let the people tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming.
People:	We look toward a day of darkness and gloom, a day clouded with sorrow, sadness, and sacrifice.
Leader:	God calls us through Jesus, "Return to me and repent with weeping and mourning."
People:	Let us fast before God, in the hope of God’s steadfast love and salvation.
Leader:	Blow the trumpet to call the people!
People:	We gather before you, O God, in solemn assembly. We gather as people of every stripe and stature.
Leader:	Let us pray together:
All:	We gather, our eyes full of tears, asking for your presence. We gather looking for your response to our living. We gather in hope. Come, humble Jesus, come. —based on Joel 2:1–2, 12–19

*Invocation

Invitation to Lenten Discipline

For years Christians have pondered the coming of Jesus’ passion and resurrection. The forty days of Lent have served as reminders of Noah’s forty days on the water, of the Israelites’ forty years of wandering in the wilderness, and of Jesus’ forty days of fasting and temptation in the wilderness. Lent has been a time to consider the ways in which we separate ourselves from God and from one another. You are invited, in the name of Christ, to observe a holy Lent by self-examination, by prayer, by study, and by meditating on God’s word.

Scripture: Psalm 51:1–2, 10–12

Prayer of Confession

An Offering of Tears

Give each person a tear-shaped piece of paper and a pencil or pen. Invite them to write something on the tear that represents one way in which they separate themselves from God. After everyone is finished, the tears are collected in a fire-proof container. Then the following words are spoken as the tears are lit with the flame from the Christ candle. (Be sure to use care with the fire and always have a fire extinguisher handy.)

Accept our sorrow and our repentance, O God, as we offer these tears to you.

Watch in silence as the tears burn. Once they are burned, continue with the Prayer of Tears.

Prayer of Tears

Leader:	Cry aloud to the Lord! Let tears stream down like a torrent.
People:	We yearn to do away with our burdens of sin, our tears of injustice and oppression.
Leader:	Arise and cry out in the night! Pour out your heart like water in God’s presence.
All:	We listen for God’s grace-filled answer, praying for relief from our inner wilderness. —based on Lamentations 2:18–19

Silent prayers

 Scripture: Hebrews 12:1–2

Assurance of Pardon

Leader:	In Christ, God declares a home among all people.
People:	We are God’s people, and Jesus dwells in us.
Leader:	In Christ, God wipes away every tear from our eyes, healing us by the resurrection.
People:	In Christ, God is calling us to be made new, offering us divine assurance in grace and forgiveness.
Leader:	"I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end," declares God,
All:	And we are your people who once were thirsty, but now drink deeply of the water of life. —based on Revelation 21:3b–7

Lead Prayer of Dedication

Prayers of the People

*A Lenten Prayer (with drum)

Four drumbeats
          God of love,
          As in Jesus Christ you gave yourself to us,
          so may we give ourselves to you,
          living according to your holy will.
Two drumbeats, pause (one, two)
          Keep our feet firmly in the way where Christ leads us;
Two drumbeats, pause (one, two)
          help our lips speak the truth that Christ teaches us;
Two drumbeats, pause (one, two)
          fill our bodies with the life that is Christ within us.
Two drumbeats, pause (one, two)
          In his holy name we pray. Amen.
One loud drumbeat to punctuate!