Lesson Plan for - Evangelical Covenant Church

Lesson Plan for: Ash Wednesday Service

By: Daniel K Booker

I. Introductory activity:
Before participants of this Ash Service enter in, a time of instruction and expression of

the purpose of such a service is needed. It is best that this teaching time be done in an area other
than the one specified for the actual Ash Service. After the teaching is completed, participants
will receive instruction pertaining to the nature of the Ash Service. What follows is a summary
of possible information to be shared.

Some people only celebrate the happy times in Jesus’ life: Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday,
and Christmas. But I think as true friends, and committed Christians, we should also watch and
pray with Him on Maundy Thursday, stand by Him at the cross on Good Friday, and retreat with
Him into the wilderness during Lent. This Ash Service is an attempt at just that.

Historically, ashes have been a sign of remorse, repentance, and mourning. Today
someone might wear a black armband to signify that they are in mourning; back then people put
ashes on their foreheads. You can find biblical examples of this in 2 Samuel 13:19, Esther 4:1-3,
Job 42:6, and Jeremiah 6:26. During Lent, ancient Christians mourned their sins and repented of
them, so it was appropriate for them to show their sincerity by having ashes on their foreheads.
The custom has persisted in the church as secular society has changed around us. The placement
of ashes on our foreheads is most appropriate on Ash Wednesday, the day when we begin a
period of sober reflection, self-examination, and spiritual redirection.

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent for Western Christian churches, and in a very
real way it is a day of preparation for a period of reflection, repentance, and remembrance. It has
been referred to as a day of penitence to clean the soul before the Lenten fast. Roman Catholic,
Anglican, Lutheran, and some other churches hold special services at which worshippers are
marked with ashes as a symbol of death, and sorrow for sin. The motivation behind the service
draws on the ancient Biblical traditions of covering one's head with ashes, wearing sackcloth,
and fasting.

During Ash Wednesday services churchgoers are marked on the forehead with a cross of
ashes as a sign of penitence and mortality. The use of ashes, typically made by burning palm
branches from the previous Palm Sunday, is extremely symbolic. It is as if the participant and
minister are crying “God our Father, you create us from the dust of the earth. Grant that these
ashes may be for us a sign of our penitence, and a symbol of our mortality.” The minister or
priest marks each worshipper on the forehead, and says “remember you are dust and unto dust
you shall return”, or a similar phrase based on God's sentence on Adam in Genesis 3:19. The
modern practice in Roman Catholic churches, as the ashes are being administered, is for the
priest to say something like “Turn away from sin and believe the gospel”.

At some churches the worshippers leave with the mark still on their forehead so that they
carry the sign of the cross out into the world. Other churches have the service ending with the
ashes being washed off as a sign that the participants have been cleansed of their sins. Either
way, the symbolism of the ashes is immense. The ashes used on Ash Wednesday are typically
made by burning the palm branches that were blessed on the previous Palm Sunday. Ashes can
also be bought from Church suppliers. The ash is sometimes mixed with anointing oil, which
ensures that the ashes make a good mark. The use of anointing oil also reminds the churchgoer of
God's blessings and of the anointing that took place at their baptism. Palm Sunday celebrates
Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, so when the branches used in the Palm Sunday service

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are converted to ashes, the worshippers are reminded that defeat and crucifixion swiftly followed
triumph. But using the ashes to mark the cross on the believer's forehead symbolizes that through
Christ's death and resurrection, all Christians can be free from sin.

The marking of their forehead with a cross made of ashes reminds each churchgoer that:
Death comes to everyone
They should be sad for their sins
They must change themselves for the better
God made the first human being by breathing life into dust, and without God, human beings
are nothing more than dust and ashes

The shape of the mark and the words used are symbolic in other ways:
The cross is a reminder of the mark of the cross made at baptism
The phrase often used when the ashes are administered reminds Christians of the doctrine of
original sin
The cross of ashes may symbolize the way Christ's sacrifice on the cross as atonement for sin
replaces the Old Testament tradition of making burnt offerings to atone for sin

II. Goals:

1. Our main goal is to introduce our congregation to the sacramental nature of the distribution of
ashes. Since we are a congregation that is unfamiliar with sacramental acts, it will serve us to
be educated about such matters as we enter in to the season of Lent, a season of remembering
who we are as Christians, and remembering who God is.

2. This Ash Service is designed to be highly meditative and reflective, allowing space for each
individual to wait and see what are where to Holy Spirit is guiding and teaching in their lives.

III. Activities:
For the Ash Service, at least 45 minutes to 1 hour should be allotted, which is above and

beyond the 10-15 minute teaching and instruction time. Proper communication of the timing of
the service should be made to those participating. This service is station heavy and is comprised
of five stations that the congregation will navigate, with the last station being the station of ashes.
After an initial 10-15 minute talk highlighting the history, significance, biblical rooted-ness, and
motivation for an ash service, each member of the congregation is instructed to take a strip of
sackcloth and tie it around their wrist. After the sackcloth is in place, individuals may enter the
previously designated space for this service. Order does not matter in processing through each
station, as long as the last station each individual visits is the ash station. Stations will center on
meditation and remembrance of God’s work in our lives with such areas as: Confession,
Reflection, Come to the Cross, Come and Listen, and finally Receiving Ashes.

While there is no concrete method or room set-up for this Ash Service, some guidelines
are helpful to consider: Allow for enough space to exist between stations. Since this is a highly
meditative activity it would do well to pay attention to the physical space in which you are
guiding people into. Potentially, deep emotional work will be done in the lives of participants
and being sensitive to this fact will assist your service. Also, pay attention to lighting. It is
suggested in the material section to have candles. The use of this mode of lighting softens the
atmosphere of the room you are using, tapping into the senses of each participant. The use of
soft, calm, warm candles rather than the harsh fluorescent lighting typically of most buildings

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will offer a place of safety as our participants explore an area of spirituality that may be
unfamiliar.

IV. Materials:
Meeting space providing adequate room for stations, gathering space for initial teaching

time, ashes, burlap strips, placards for station instructions, candles, miscellaneous mirrors, a
wooden cross (if possible hand made or rustic), a fire place or pit of some sort, art supplies
(paper, markers, colored pencils, crayons, pens, pencils), music (reflective worship music works
well) and music player.

V. Summary of Stations:
After receiving initial information on the purpose, meaning, and explanation of what an

Ash Wednesday is, as well as what this particular Ash Service will be, participants are given
strips of sackcloth to tie on their wrists. They then enter the designated space and find
themselves in a candle-lit room with various stations laid out before them. Making sure that it is
understood to go through the ash station last, participants proceed from station to station as they
each feel led by the Holy Spirit.

Of the stations each participant will visit, themes of Confession, Reflection, Come to the
Cross, Come and Listen, and Receiving Ashes will be in places of focus. The first of these,
Confession, offers perspective on our humanity and our relation with the God of creation.
Through the use of tactile learning, participants experience the often not-understood yet true
reality of God’s forgiving nature and of the grace given through Christ. At this station,
participants are instructed with the following:

Confession
We all have areas where we fail. The bible tells us that because of this failing nature,
you and I deserve death. BUT, we have been given a gift instead and because of Jesus
Christ we are given life. Jesus is the only human to live on earth and not sin and when
we live our life in relationship with Him we are seen, not for our sin, but with his
righteousness.

The season of Lent is a journey towards the cross of Christ, the cross on which He died
to take our sins and give us life. As you stop here, think back on your life. Confess to
God your sins and write them down. Take time to listen to God and then place your
paper in the fire, the burning of the paper symbolizing the erasing of your sins through
the death of Christ.

Another station that participants experience deals with reflection. This station makes use
of mirrors and reflective surfaces as each individual seeks to understand themselves in relation to
Christ. Honest reflection, done with integrity, serves to gain a deeper level of self-awareness.
With this knowledge, we are all able to tap into the gifts and abilities that God has created us
with. We are also able to know what our areas of weakness and struggle are. It is the hope of this
station that each participant will be able to see who they are, created by God, member of the one
body, and joined to Christ in his death and resurrection. Participants are instructed with:

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Reflection
We are created in the image of God. That means there is something about us that is
like our heavenly father. As the crown of his creation, our attitudes, thoughts, and
actions are all designed to reflect the maker of heaven and earth.

But does it? Do my actions really reflect God? Do others really see Christ in me?
Take time here to stop and reflect. Look deep into yourself, what do you see? Who is
the person that is looking back at you? What reflection do you see?

In the station titled, Come to the Cross, participants are instructed to reflect on the cross
of Christ and Jesus’ Lenten journey. Attention is paid to the burlap that each participant is
wearing, as well as to the physical cross set before them at this station. Participants are met at
this station with the following instruction:

Come to the Cross
This is the final stop on the Lenten journey, the cross of Christ. Unlike the cross you
look at today, the actual cross Jesus carried was rough and heavy. The pain he went
through, intense. And we were the reason he went through it all. He suffered and died
so that we could be given life.

As you think about the suffering of Christ, look at your wrist. Burlap was worn in Old
Testament days by people who were truly sorry for their sins. Instead of around the
wrist it was worn over the entire body. Imagine wearing a burlap suit. How does it
feel? Feel the strip on your wrist, is it comfortable? Think of Christ on the cross, how
much more suffering did he go through than a strip of burlap on the wrist?

The next station on the list is the last before the participants reach the station of ashes.
Here participants are given opportunity to simply pause. In offering another avenue for
reflection, this station calls upon the artistic as well as the analytic side of people. It is often
difficult for us to find time in our daily lives for spiritual reflection and discernment. However, if
pressed most people in our churches would express a strong desire for connection to God in an
intimate and deeply personal and real way. It is the hope of this station to introduce some time,
however minimal, in participants lives. Besides being met with art supplies and music, each
participant is instructed in the following way:

Come and listen
We often spend our days filled with noise. The bible however, tells us to be slow to
speak and quick to listen. At this station stop and hear God speak. As the music plays
meditate on Christ and His presence in your life. Is he a major influence or is he hardly
there at all? How do you see Him? How would you describe Jesus?

Take time to write and/or draw what you are experiencing. Be creative. Allow the
Spirit to flow through you as you experience Jesus, right here where you are.

We now come to the final station, that of administering ashes. It is here that the service of
contemplation and reflection culminates and each participant is sent forth in a new and deeper
understanding of their identity and the reality of the death and resurrection of Christ. The simple
refrain, “Dust you are and to dust you will return, turn from your sin and be faithful to the

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gospel” is the emphasis here. Before having ashes placed upon their foreheads, participants are
asked to read and pray through the following statements:

From Ashes you were formed…

You are dust and unto dust you shall return. ~ Genesis 3:19

O Jesus, you place on my forehead O Jesus, you place on my forehead
the sign of my sister Death: the sign of your saving Cross:

"Remember you are dust, "Turn from sin and be faithful
and to dust you shall return." to the gospel."

How not hear her wise advice? How can I turn from sin
unless I turn to you?
One day my life on earth will end;
the limits on my years are set, You speak, you raise your hand,
though I know not the day or hour you touch my mind and call my
Shall I be ready to go to meet you? name,
"Turn to the Lord your God again."
Let this holy season be a time of
grace, These days of your favor
for me and all this world. leave a blessing as you pass
on me and all your people.
"Teach us to number our days Turn to us, Lord God,
aright, and we shall turn to you
that we may gain wisdom of heart."

Turn from sin and be faithful to the gospel

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the
sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts,
that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may
obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through
Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, for ever and ever. Amen1

After receiving the administration of ashes, each participant is called to respond to

what they have experienced through this service of ashes as they leave. By going forth

from the service, dismissed with the admonishment to turn from sin and live lives faithful

to the gospel, each participant is fully reminded of the unique call placed on their life.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a season of reflection, repentance, and

remembrance. But it is more than that. In a very real way, this service can provide an

experience for the church to pick up their cross and participate with Christ. Where we
celebrate with Christ’s celebration at Christmas and Easter, here marked with ashes we
place ourselves in a place of participation in Christ’s pain and suffering. It is by

1 Both prayers found in Carroll Stuhlmueller’s works, Biblical Meditations for Lent and Biblical
Mediations for the Easter Season.

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remembering who we are and what we come from that the church may continue to live
out God’s purposes in this world.

The service of ashes ends at different times for each participant. After receiving
their ashes, participants should be instructed to move to another section of the building,
as others may still be processing through the stations. People may feel free to go home, or
some sort of debriefing activity may be planned.
VII. Bibliography:
Dorman, Marianne. Living Lent, Wheatmark, 2007
Stuhlmueller, Carroll. Biblical Meditations for Lent, Paulist Press, 1978

______, Biblical Meditations for the Easter Season, Paulist Press, 1980
Thurston, Herbert. "Ash Wednesday." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York:
Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 6 Dec. 2008

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Ash Wednesday Evening Service
6:30pm

 Welcome

-Introduction and Prayer

 Teaching/Instruction
 Station Experience

-Reflection
-Confession
-Come and Listen
-Come to the Cross

 Receiving of the Ashes/Dismissal

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