EARTHKEEPING
NEWS
A NEWSLETTER
OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ECOLOGY
Volume Fourteen, Number Two
March/April 2005
An Ash Wednesday Service
On February 9, 2005, I attended the most meaningful Ash Wednesday service I had ever gone to! The church where I'm an active lay member, Church of the Covenant in Boston, is a federated United Church of Christ/Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. congregation. This year our clergy staff, together with our Worship and Music Committee, planned a service which affirmed the ties of human beings with all of nature! Ash Wednesday, when the words "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust" are traditionally spoken, is a natural opportunity to celebrate our connection with all the other creatures created, like women and men, from the dust of the earth. But I had never thought of that before, and no Ash Wednesday observance I'd ever attended had made that connection.
In this year's service, we read responsively a "Litany of Connection" which used the eloquent poetry based on Chief Seattle's letter: "Every part of the earth is sacred. . . . Teach the children that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls our mother befalls her children… .This we know: the earth does not belong to us, But we belong to the earth." And our time of community prayer included "prayers for all creation."
Prior to the imposition of ashes, we were led in this prayer: "Merciful God: From the roots of the earth you have created us. May these ashes be for us a sign of transformation, forgiveness, and blessing." And the ashes were pressed to our foreheads with these words from our pastors: "You are a wonderful part of this holy earth. Remember that in God we are one, in blessing and in brokenness."
The service concluded by sending us out into the world with Meister Eckhart's words: "This, then, is salvation: When you marvel at the beauty of created things. . . . Go now, marvel, praise God, and act on behalf of the earth wherever you go." What a powerful message to live up to!
Barbara may be reached at bsmith@wheatonma.edu.
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