· Web view2021/02/17 · St. John Lutheran Church Mineola, Iowa Phone (712) 526-2268 Website: stjohnluthchurchmineola.org Pastor Luke Kuenzli February 1 7 2021 7:00pm Ash Wednesday

ELW Ash Wednesday without Communion

St. John Lutheran Church (ELCA)Mineola, IA

Pastor Luke Kuenzli

Order of Service and Worship TextsFor Virtual and In-person Worship

Adapted from Evangelical Lutheran WorshipAsh Wednesday and from Sundays & Seasons

February 2021 during COVID-19 pandemic

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Wed, Feb 17 – Ash Wednesday Worship 7pm; Imposition of Ashes anytime at the Church.Wed/Thurs – Virtual Communion (times below)

SUNDAY: February 21, 2021 – First Sunday in Lent10:30 – In-person Worship with YouTube Live stream

Wednesdays in Lent, we will be using worship resources prepared by the Western Iowa Synod staff, with a focus on “Currents of Grace,” our 2021 Synod Assembly theme. We will not have in-person worship, but will have either pre-recorded or live-streamed worship. The Lenten Offering may be going to the Western Iowa Synod’s “Fund for the Future” which supports seminary students (with tuition) and recently ordained clergy (with debt relief).

Virtual Communion:During Sunday worship (when worship is virtual-only) ORWhen Sunday worship is in-person: (meeting address is the same each week) Wednesdays at 11am: meet.google.com/ixe-mnpg-eej AND Thursdays at 6:30pm: meet.google.com/uwh-pewk-hms ORby other arrangement with Pastor Luke.

If worshipping from home, pick up a prepackaged communion cup/wafer at the North entrance, near the Church office. (or use your own bread and wine/grape juice).

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St. John Lutheran ChurchMineola, Iowa Phone (712) 526-2268Website: stjohnluthchurchmineola.orgPastor Luke Kuenzli

February 17 2021 7:00pmAsh Wednesday

We are called to glorify God,

grow in faith, and build community.

Mission Statement

Food Drive

The Women of St. John are having a food drive and collecting for Mills County Ministerial Association food pantry all through the month of February.

Kid-friendly cereals, canned tuna, chicken, pears, peaches and mixed fruits, dry pastas, toilet paper and feminine hygiene products ALWAYS welcome and needed.


Covid-19 Precautions for in-person worship We will require masks be worn while you are in the building (Ages 2 and

up). Refusal to wear a mask will result in your being asked to leave. We will be practicing social distancing of 6 feet. Closed pews are cordoned

off and labelled. Please don’t gather in the hallway or enter any closed spaces. Restrooms will

be limited to single-person/family use at any given time. Those who do not comply with social distancing policies will be asked to leave.

There will not be prolonged singing or unison speaking, communion, or fellowship time. Virtual communion will be held midweek.

We continue to advise (not require) that persons in the vulnerable population groups of 65+ years of age and anyone with underlying medical conditions remain home.

We ask that anyone with any respiratory symptoms (cough, sniffles, sneezing, sore throat) or fever please remain home. You will be asked to leave if you are displaying such symptoms.

We ask that if you are traveling to areas of high virus activity, you remain home for the Sunday following your travels.

Hand sanitizers are located throughout the open areas. Feel free to use them!

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Have you been engaging in our Virtual Worship? Do you want this virtual ministry to continue? Would you support such an effort financially?

Council is looking at proposals to upgrade our technology to “transfigure” our current, clunky, temporary set-up into a permanent solution. This would include: - an installed Pan-Tilt-Zoom camera (PTZ 20x HD SDI) - an audio mixing board (Mackie SR32-4-VLZ Pro) - a dedicated livestream processing unit (AJA Helo) - a PC for running the camera and livestream - a new AV Station in the balcony, with wiring run to that locationTotal Cost (mostly labor) is estimated at $16,000.


The assembly gathers in silence. (No prelude or announcements)

GATHERING

INVITATION TO LENTFriends in Christ, today with the whole church we enter the time of remembering Jesus’ passover from death to life, and our life in Christ is renewed.

We begin this holy season by acknowledging our need for repentance and for God’s mercy. We are created to experience joy in communion with God, to love one another, and to live in harmony with creation. But our sinful rebellion separates us from God, our neighbors, and creation, so that we do not enjoy the life our creator intended.

As disciples of Jesus, we are called to a discipline that contends against evil and resists whatever leads us away from love of God and neighbor. I invite you, therefore, to the discipline of Lent—self-examination and repentance, prayer and fasting, sacrificial giving and works of love—strengthened by the gifts of word and sacrament.

As we begin our journey through these forty days to the great Three Days of Jesus’ death and resurrection; as we enter into this season of reflection, repentance, and renewal; we ask God to bring us healing, wholeness, and holiness in all our thoughts, words, and deeds, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

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OPENING SONG “There Is a Balm in Gilead” ELW 614Those worshipping in-person are invited to listen and meditate on the words.

Those worshipping virtually may sing along.

*GREETING The Lord be with you. And also with you.

*PRAYER OF THE DAYLet us pray. A brief silence is kept before the prayer. Almighty and ever-living God, you hate nothing you have made, and you forgive the sins of all who are penitent. Create in us new and honest hearts, so that, truly repenting of our sins, we may receive from you, the God of all mercy, full pardon and forgiveness through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

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WORDFIRST READING: A reading from Joel 2:1-2, 12-17.

1Blow 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— 2a 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. …

12Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 13rend 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. 14Who 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?

15Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly; 16gather 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. 17Between the vestibule & 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?’ ” …Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God.

PSALM 51:1-17.1Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;

in your great compassion blot out my offenses.2Wash me through and through from my wickedness, and cleanse me from my

sin.3For I know my offenses, and my sin is ever before me.4Against you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight;

so you are justified when you speak and right in your judgment. 5Indeed, I was born steeped in wickedness, a sinner from my mother’s womb.6Indeed, you delight in truth deep within me,

and would have me know wisdom deep within. 7Remove my sins with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

wash me, and I shall be purer than snow.8Let me hear joy and gladness; that the body you have broken may rejoice. 9Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my wickedness.10Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

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12Restore to me the joy of your salvation and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.

13Let me teach your ways to offenders, and sinners shall be restored to you.14Rescue me from bloodshed, O God of my salvation,

and my tongue shall sing of your righteousness. 15O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.16For you take no delight in sacrifice, or I would give it.

You are not pleased with burnt offering. 17The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit;

a troubled and broken heart, O God, you will not despise.

SECOND READING: A reading from 2 Corinthians 5:20b--6:10.20bWe entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21For our sake he

made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 6:1As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. 2For he says, “At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you.”

See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! 3We are putting no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, 7truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see—we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; 10as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything. …Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God.

*GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

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ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE GOSPEL: The holy gospel according to Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21. Glory to you, O Lord.

PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL:[Jesus said to the disciples:] 1“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. 2“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. 3But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 5“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. 6But 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. 16“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. 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so 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. 19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

…The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.

SERMONAs I read the scriptures appointed for Ash Wednesday, I am drawn to the

prophet Joel’s call to the people of Israel and Judah – his call to us, as well. Joel

speaks of a great and powerful army, the like of which has never been seen, nor

will ever be again in the ages to come. This powerful force lays siege to God’s

people with thick darkness and attempts to snuff out the faith that lives within

them. Speaking to a people distraught, a people so caught up in despair that they

are destroying their own possessions, “rending their clothing” out of a need to do

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something – anything – to express their hopelessness, Joel proclaims a word of

hope.

“ ‘Yet even now,’ says the Lord… ‘Yet even now, return to me with all your

heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 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. Who knows

whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him…”

For nearly a year now, we have been faced with a powerful force which has

laid siege to our lives, as well. The COVID pandemic continues to affect our daily

lives as we, our families, our neighbors and friends become ill, get that oh-so-

wonderful nasal swab test, call for hours at a time to get on the vaccine list, receive

vaccines and in many cases are laid low for a day or two afterwards. We have, in

our living memory, never experienced anything like this pandemic, and we

certainly hope never to see such a thing again in the ages to come. But such a hope

seems far away, with the highly contagious variants that have begun spreading, the

difficulties we have seen with vaccine distribution, the fear that the vaccine may be

less effective than desired… “Yet even now,” says Joel… “return to the Lord with

all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and

not your clothing.”

This season, as we begin practices of Lenten discipline, we are invited to

consider where our hearts have been fixated. Have our hearts lost connection to

God, to neighbor, to family and friends and strangers in need because we have lost

our physical connection to them through pandemic isolation compounded by

winter weather forcing us to stay in? Have our hearts become cold and callous

because of the constant barrage of hurtful words spoken or typed by those with

different political perspectives? Where have we been investing our energies, our

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anxieties, our passions, our frustrations, our finances in vain efforts to fix what is

broken in this world?; “for where our treasures are, there will our hearts be also.”

“Yet even now,” says Joel… “return to the Lord with all your heart, with

fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing.”

This season, we make an effort to re-turn to the Lord our God – to turn again

to the one who does not turn from us, but rather hides his face from our sins to look

on us with mercy and forgiveness, as people made new and whole and holy again.

We re-turn to God through prayer for ourselves and for others and for our world as

are reminded that all share in a mutual need for healing from our brokenness.

We re-turn to God through fasting from the things we desire so that we

might be better able to focus on the one thing we truly need: God’s Holy Word,

made flesh in Jesus Christ and in the Holy Supper and in the communion of saints

who encourage us in our faith; God’s Word spoken over us in love and mercy.

We re-turn to God through acts of giving, as we are reminded that it is not

our possessions or wealth or power that provides our needs, but God who gives all

things for our sustenance and for the sustenance of all the world. Indeed, all our

possessions and wealth and even our bodies will meet with decay, but God’s love

endures forever, and we have been called in Christ to share that love with all whom

we meet.

We re-turn to God not so that others will see that we are seeking God and

praise us for our faithfulness, but so that we might have lives that are filled with

healing and wholeness and holiness, for the sake of everyone around us. We return

to God so that we might help the world return to God, so that we might be able to

“teach offenders [God’s] ways, so that sinners might be restored to [God].”

But make no mistake, brothers and sisters in Christ. It is, indeed, a returning

in which we to engage during this Lenten season. We have turned away, again and

again, from God’s will and God’s ways. We have turned, again and again, from

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love of neighbor and stranger. We have turned, again and again, from kindness and

compassion. We have turned, again and again, from truth and justice. We have

turned, and so we must re-turn, by God’s grace, and live in the promise of

forgiveness, both now and forever.

When (not if) we find ourselves straying from God’s path of love for all,

Jesus calls us back through his life, death, and resurrection. Trusting in this

promise means that all our fears, anxieties, frustrations – all the negativity with

which we invest our lives – all of them can and will be washed away so that we

may be made clean; they will be cast out of our hearts so that we can be restored to

lives of love; all our sin is forgiven, so that we are restored to the joy of salvation.

Healing, forgiveness, restoration, salvation, resurrection… All of these

promises of God are joy-bringing and hope-giving and awe-inspiring, but we must

not forget that they are, inherently, responses to our need for them. There is no

healing without injury or illness first. Forgiveness is unnecessary unless there has

first been brokenness in relationship. To restore something is to make it what it

once was, as it was intended to be. To save is to bring out of trouble. And

resurrection, that ultimate promise of God’s love and mercy, can and will not

happen unless we first acknowledge the reality of death.

This Lenten journey on which we embark today is an opportunity to face the

painful truth of our need for God’s mercy, forgiveness, and salvation. This is a

chance to acknowledge that we are, in fact, growing ever closer to our deaths, and

that only by Jesus Christ’s own suffering and death are we saved. Yet even now, as

we journey through these forty days… Yet even now, as we trudge through a

continued pandemic which has already claimed nearly two and a half million of

God’s beloved children’s lives… Yet even now, our God has given us a word of

hope: “Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to

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anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing. Who knows

whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him…”

Let this be our hope, our prayer, and our joy. Amen.

HYMN OF THE DAY “I Want Jesus to Walk With Me” ELW 325Those worshipping in-person are invited to listen and meditate on the words.


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CONFESSION OF SINLet us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.The assembly kneels or sits. Silence is kept for reflection and self-examination.

Most holy and merciful God, we confess to you and to one another,and before the whole company of heaven, that we have sinned by our fault,by our own fault, by our own most grievous fault, in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone.

We have not loved you with our whole heart, & mind, & strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others as we have been forgiven. Have mercy on us, O God.

We have shut our ears to your call to serve as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit. Have mercy on us, O God.

Our past unfaithfulness, the pride, envy, hypocrisy, & apathy that have infected our lives, we confess to you. Have mercy on us, O God.

Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, & our exploitation of other people, we confess to you. Have mercy on us, O God.

Our negligence in prayer and worship, & our failure to share the faith that is in us, we confess to you. Have mercy on us, O God.

Our neglect of human need & suffering, & our indifference to injustice and cruelty, we confess to you. Have mercy on us, O God.

Our false judgments, our uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, & our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us, we confess to you. Have mercy on us, O God.

Our waste & pollution of your creation, & our lack of concern for those who come after us,

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we confess to you. Have mercy on us, O God.

Restore us, O God, & let your anger depart from us.Hear us, O God, for your mercy is great.

IMPOSITION OF ASHESAlmighty God, you have created us out of the dust of the earth.May these ashes be a sign of our mortality and penitence, reminding usthat only by the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ are we given eternal life;through the same Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

People may come forward and kneel or stand to receive the ashes.

Ministers mark the forehead of each person with a cross of ashes, saying:Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

Those worshipping at home may pinch and rub a bit of blackened candle wick between their fingers to create soot with which to mark their own or their family members’ foreheads, speaking the same words (above). *Note* Avoid using wood ash, because it can become acidic when mixed with the natural moisture present in skin, and can leave “burns.”*

After all who wish have received ashes:Accomplish in us, O God, the work of your salvation,that we may show forth your glory in the world.By the cross and passion of your Son, our Savior,bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.

The presiding minister addresses the assembly.Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSIONRelying on the promises of God, we pray boldly for the church, the world, and all

in need. A brief silence.

O God, you call your church to be ministers of reconciliation throughout the world. Inspire your church in its proclamation of the gospel and guide its ministries to build up the body of Christ. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

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O God, you created the earth and all its inhabitants and you declared that it is good. Protect mountains and valleys, animals and plants, and direct us to be good stewards of all you have made. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

O God, you desire peace. Direct governments and leaders to work for the well-being of all people and raise up advocates to speak and serve on behalf of the downtrodden. Lord, in your mercy. hear our prayer.

O God, you are our hope in the midst of despair, our help in the midst of sorrow, and our consolation in the midst of affliction. Grant comfort to all who suffer in body, mind, or spirit (especially) and support caregivers who attend to all in need. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

O God, you are love, and you call us to love one another. Accompany with your grace those journeying toward baptism and call us all to repentance as we prepare to celebrate Christ’s death and resurrection. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

O God, you are our life and our salvation. We give you thanks for the righteous who have died in faith. Inspire us by their example to proclaim your steadfast love. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We entrust ourselves and all our prayers to you, O faithful God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

*LORD’S PRAYERGathered into one by the Holy Spirit, let us pray as Jesus taught us.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 and ever. Amen.

SENDING*BLESSING

You are what God made you to be: created in Christ Jesus for good works,chosen as holy and beloved, freed to serve your neighbor.

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God bless you ☩ that you may be a blessing,in the name of the holy and life-giving Trinity. Amen.

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SENDING HYMN “The Lord Now Sends Us Forth” ELW 538Those worshipping in-person are invited to listen and meditate on the words.


English text © 1998 and arr © 2003 Augsburg Fortress.

*DISMISSALGo forth into the world to serve God with gladness; be of good courage;hold fast to that which is good; render to no one evil for evil;strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak; help the afflicted; honor all people; love and serve God, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.Thanks be to God.

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Scripture quotations from New Revised Standard Version Bible, © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved

worldwide.

Service adapted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship © 2006. All rights reserved.And/or from Sundays and Seasons.com. © 2021 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved.

Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #46263.

“The Lord Now Sends Us Forth” English text © 1998 and arr © 2003 Augsburg Fortress.Used by permission from ONE LICENSE, License #731513-A. All rights reserved.

Permission to stream music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE, License #731513-A. All rights reserved.

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Documents

· Web view2021/02/17 · St. John Lutheran Church Mineola, Iowa Phone (712) 526-2268 Website: stjohnluthchurchmineola.org Pastor Luke Kuenzli February 1 7 2021 7:00pm Ash Wednesday