Linda Langstaff

Our church does not have a strong Ash Wednesday tradition. Before COVID-19, our only Ash Wednesday observance was a 6:30 a.m. service for New York City commuters in the congregation. Once we were back in full-program mode, I began to think about Ash Wednesday, and my first thought was that I didn’t want to go back to a 6:30 a.m. service. One night after choir rehearsal I noticed a light had been left on in our parish hall, and I went to turn it off. I was struck by the quiet of the space, the high ceilings, arches, and wood floor dimly lit by the streetlamps. The place I knew well from coffee hour, church dinners, and the like was transformed in that moment to a place of beauty and peace. That’s where the idea for an Ash Wednesday Compline service started to take shape, an experiment that turned out to be one of the most memorable worship experiences of the year. The service combined elements from the Anglican Compline (Night Prayer) service with the imposition of ashes. The parish hall was transformed into an intimate sacred space conducive to the spirit of repentance, reflection, and renewal that is the essence of the season of Lent. At the center of the room we arranged a table with rocks, bare branches, candles, and a bowl of ashes. We set up chairs in a horseshoe configuration around the table, with the choir and musicians stationed at the sides of the room. Votive candles in the windows and minimal lighting helped to create space for quiet reflection. The hall’s acoustics were especially favorable for unaccompanied choral music, and our choir worked diligently to be able to sing all the music—including plainchant used in the service of Compline—without accompaniment apart from handbells that sometimes tolled or sang. For Sunday worship, our congregation splits into two separate services: traditional worship in one space and contemporary worship in another. One of the unexpected blessings of this Ash Wednesday service, held in a space that was neither traditional nor contemporary, was the opportunity to worship as one body of Christ. May this article inspire you to take a new look at the spaces in your church as well as at ancient worship practices and consider how they might be transformed to create a fresh worship experience for your congregation.   Welcome Welcome to our Ash Wednesday Compline service. The word “Compline” comes from compleo, a Latin word that means “complete,” so this is a service of prayer at the completion of the day. Compline is a time to reflect on the day past, confess your sins, and commit yourself to God’s care, just as Lent is a time to reflect on our lives, repent of our sins, and commit ourselves to following Christ more completely. Our service tonight combines elements of the Anglican Compline service with the observance of Ash Wednesday, when we sharpen our awareness of how much we need Jesus Christ, the Messiah, who died for our sins and rose victorious on Easter. You will be invited to respond in words or song at various points during the service; the words and lyrics for these responses will be projected. We’ll begin now with a time of silence. We encourage you to put aside the cares and concerns of the day. Turn your thoughts toward God, and wait for him. [You may choose to project this verse during the silence: “For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him” (Psalm 62:5, NRSV).]   Call to Worship Opening Song: “I Will Wait for You” Kauflin et al. [In a time of silence following the singing of “I Will Wait for You,” the Christ candle may be lit.] Preparation The Lord Almighty grant us a peaceful night and a perfect end. Amen. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, and stand firm in the faith. But you, O Lord, have mercy upon us. Thanks be to God. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. —from “An Order for Night Prayer (Compline) in Traditional Language” © The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England, 2000–2004. Reprint permission requested. Psalmody and Gospel Reading Psalm 31:1–6 [either read or chanted by the choir using Sarum Psalm Tone VIII 1; alternatively, read Psalm 31 and sing the refrain, “My Times Are in Your Hands” LUYH 458] In Thee, O Lord, have I put my trust. Let me never be put to confusion. Deliver me in thy righteousness. Bow down Thine ear to me. O haste thee to deliver me, and be thou my strong rock and house of defense that thou mayest save me, For thou art my strong rock and my castle; be thou also my guide and lead me for thy name’s sake. Draw me out of the net that they have laid privily for me, for thou art my strength. Into thy hands I commend my spirit, for thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, thou God of truth. —Bishops Bible, 1568 Scripture Reading: Matthew 11:28–30 Responsory Into thy hands, O Lord  (Plainsong, soloist, and choir) Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit, for thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, thou God of truth. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. Keep me, O Lord, as the apple of your eye. Hide me under the shadow of thy wings.  Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. —from “An Order for Night Prayer (Compline) in Traditional Language” © The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England, 2000–2004, Reprint permission requested.   Prayer of Confession Psalm 51 [Interspersed throughout the reading of the psalm will be a sung response, “Create in Me a Clean Heart” by Linda Langstaff. The music can be found in the print edition and in our digital library] Reader 1: Have mercy on me, O God, According to your loving-kindness; In your great compassion blot out my offenses. Wash me through and through from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.  Against you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. So you are justified when you speak and upright in your judgment. [sung response] Reader 2:  Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; wash me, and I shall be clean indeed. Make me hear of joy and gladness, that the body you have broken may rejoice.   Hide your face from my sins and blot out my iniquities. [sung response] Reader 1: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.   Give me the joy of your saving help again, and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit. [sung response] Reader 2: Deliver me from death, O God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing of your righteousness.  Open my lips, O God, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise. Had you desired it, I would have offered sacrifice, but you take no delight in burnt offerings.  My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, you, God, will not despise. —St. Helena Psalter, The Order of St. Helena ©2000, Church Publishing Inc. [sung response]   Assurance of Pardon Reading: Psalm 103:8–14 Sung Response: “Gloria Patri” LUYH 961   Meditation [Choose a Scripture text on which to meditate that is appropriate for your context, perhaps Joel 2:12–13 or Isaiah 64:6–8. Conclude the meditation by inviting people to come forward for the imposition of ashes. The passage could also be projected during the imposition.]   Imposition of Ashes Words of Imposition From dust you were formed, and to dust you will return. Repent, and believe the gospel. Scripture Readings Joel 2:12–13 Isaiah 64:6–8 Choral Anthem: “God So Loved the World” Chilcott   Nunc Dimittis with the Lord’s Prayer Nunc Dimittis Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel. —Luke 2:29–32 The Lord’s Prayer Let us continue together in prayer. “Our Father . . .”   Closing Hymn: “Abide with Me” (st. 1–3) Lyte, LUYH 466, GtG 836, SSS 475 Benediction We will lie down in peace and take our rest. For it is you, Lord, only that makes us dwell in safety.  Abide with us, O Lord, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.  As the watchmen look for the morning, so do we look for you, O Christ, our rock and our salvation.  The almighty and merciful Lord, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, bless us and preserve us this night and always. Amen.  —from “An Order for Night Prayer (Compline) in Traditional Language” © The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England, 2000–2004. Reprint permission requested. Sung Blessing: “Da Pacem Domine/Grant Us Your Peace O Lord” Taizé 33

As with many congregations, our primary worship services were still online for Holy Week 2021. We wanted to create an online worship experience for Maundy Thursday that would be more than a few songs and a sermon, instead retelling the events from Palm Sunday through Maundy Thursday in an engaging way using dramatic monologues, music, and visual elements. In light of the church‘s COVID policy, participants came to the sanctuary separately to record their parts, which were then edited together. Brief interludes of a solo flute playing phrases of “What Wondrous Love Is This” served as a transition between spoken parts. Visual elements included a basin and towel, the communion table set with bread and cup, and decorative elements such as candles, grapevines, and swags of purple cloth. This service is equally as effective as a quiet, in-person candlelight service. The set and performances could simply be a readers theater, or it could be fully costumed and acted. In our COVIDtime version, music consisted of solos and a virtual choir anthem, but familiar hymns and a responsive call to worship would give the congregation several opportunities to participate. I am grateful to my New Providence colleagues Jennifer Gong, director of contemporary worship, and Rick Clark, service producer and director of contemporary worship, for their significant contributions to this service. Welcome and Call to Worship Scripture Reading: Psalm 116:1–2, 12–14, 17–19 Opening Prayer Instrumental Music: “What Wondrous Love” Anonymous, LUYH 164, GtG 215, SSS 177 Holy Week Disciple 1: I can’t believe it—Jesus was arrested, and now they are saying he might be put to death! How could this have happened? It’s not right! Jesus is our Messiah, the Christ—not a rebel leader, not a criminal! It was just a few days ago that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a borrowed colt. People were spreading their coats and cut branches, making a pathway for him and shouting: “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!” “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” At last! we thought. At last people could see him for who he was: the Messiah we’d been waiting for. At last the kingdom of Israel would be restored to the glory of the days of King David. We were filled with hope and excitement, and we were right in the center of everything! Disciple 2: But then things began to change. First there was the incident in the temple courts. We’d never seen Jesus so filled with anger—righteous anger—as he cleared out all the merchants and overturned their tables. That didn’t go over so well with the powers that be. And then there were the verbal contests with the priests and rabbis. Like cat and mouse, they kept trying to trap Jesus with their arcane questions, but most times Jesus left them speechless. We were proud to be disciples of such a wise teacher. Disciple 1: But then Jesus began to speak of things we didn’t want to hear—uncomfortable things, like how the temple would be destroyed, how persecution and betrayal and danger would come to us. The end of days. He told us to watch for it—to be ready. Worst of all, he began to talk about his own death. While we were having a meal at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came in with an alabaster jar of perfume, which she broke open and poured on Jesus’ head. Everyone was shocked—scandalized at the waste of such an expensive commodity. But not Jesus. He blessed her. He said she had done a beautiful thing, that she had prepared his body for burial. Hymn: “My Jesus, I Love Thee” Featherstone, LUYH 366, SSS 303, WR 468 Passover Disciple 2: And then came the Passover. We needed to find a place to have the meal. Jesus told us to find a servant carrying a jar of water, who would lead us to a place. And it was just as he said—the man’s master had a room upstairs in his house, ready for our use. We didn’t know it then, but this was our last meal with Jesus. If only we had known! We would have acted so differently. For one thing, we would have throttled that snake Judas before he slid away unnoticed! Jesus even said one of us would betray him, and their eyes met, but we didn’t want to believe it. Maybe he was speaking figuratively, we thought. It wouldn’t be the first time we struggled to understand. I wish I’d known it would be our last evening with him. He told us many things: parables, prophecies—important things. But we wasted time, arguing about who would be the greatest in the new kingdom. Halfway through the meal, Jesus did a most unusual thing—an uncomfortable thing at first. We should have been used to that by now, but this was different. It was an act of love I will never forget. The master suddenly stood up, took off his robe, knelt down by the water basin, and proceeded to wash our dirty, dusty feet, just like a servant. He told us he had done it as an example—a mandate, a new command. “Love one another,” he said. “As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34–35). Scripture Reading: Philippians 2:5–8 Anthem: “Merciful God” Getty and Townend The Message Disciple 1: So we ate that last Passover meal with Jesus, with herbs to remind us of the bitter slavery of our ancestors in Egypt and bread not given time to rise to remind us that our forefathers hurried away from their chains. And the wine—red wine, like the blood of the lambs that marked the door frames at the first Passover, like the blood placed on the altar, reminding us that freedom is not without sacrifice. And as we recited the words and performed the actions to reaffirm God’s ancient covenant with our people, Jesus made a new covenant with us with the bread and wine of his body and blood. Why? Why was he preparing to leave us in this way—to die, when the kingdom was within his reach? He told us to do this and remember him. Lord’s Supper [At this point in the service, lead your congregation in communion in whatever manner is customary for you.] The Garden Disciple 2: These things he was saying about his body being broken and his blood being shed—we didn’t want to believe it. We didn’t even want to think about it. But we went when he asked us to come with him to the Mount of Olives. Scripture Reading: Luke 22:39–46 Hymn: “Go to Dark Gethsemane” Montgomery, LUYH 161, GtG 220, SSS 171 Disciple 1: I’m ashamed to admit it, but I fell asleep—not once, but twice. And then Judas showed up with the soldiers, came up to Jesus, and kissed him. A show of friendship and love now stood for betrayal. Then they arrested Jesus and took him away. And now? We’re afraid. We believe he is the Son of God—but what now? I remember Jesus saying, “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe” (John 14:28–29). Do I believe? Faith or fear—which is stronger tonight? Closing Song: “We Hunger and Thirst” Romanacce, Couch, et al. Sending and Blessing