ash wednesday @ hOME

last night was our ash wednesday service at hOME. we continue to find the liturgical year a source of inspiration for the rhythm of our worship in hOME. last night i prepared a meditation based on the idea of lent being a time when we strip away stuff. we made some individual 'pass the parcel' type packages, each with 11 layers. each layer represented a different way of defining ourselves that we are encouraged into by our culture which we need to strip away: things like being defined by our jobs, our sexual attractiveness, our education, our independence etc. each sheet had a meditation, some questions to ponder, some pictures, and a prayer. in the middle of the space there was a table with a big pot and 3 candles on it. people went to different parts of the room and found some private space. they then proceeded to remove the first layer of the parcel. once they had spent time considering and praying they went to the table in the middle of the room and set fire to the piece of paper to symbolise letting go of that way of defining ourselves. in the middle of the package was a small bag of soil and some thoughts based on Gen 2:7 about adam being formed from the dust of the ground. people were encouraged to take the soil away with them and keep it in their pocket. the idea being that the soil would remind us of our true nature every time we touch it or see it. after a time of sung worship we then used the ash from the burnt paper to sign each other. we then had a short time of discussing what we are and aren't defined by and then finishing with some prayers. It was a great night.

ash weds1
Originally uploaded by Matt Rees.