I did not grow up in a tradition that celebrated Ash Wednesday. It was later into my adult years when I was introduced to the ancient practice. Many of you, like I did, may wonder –

What is Ash Wednesday?

Ash Wednesday is a wonderfully therapeutic service in which we get to formally confess our sins, mistakes, and regrets to God – anything we are ashamed of or weighed-down by – and in response, we receive from Him assurances of His love, His forgiveness, His pardon, His deliverance, and of being restored to rightness before His eyes through Christ Jesus.

Ash Wednesday is the start of the Christian season known as “Lent,” a 40-day period of walking with Jesus from the start of His ministry to His death on the cross. (The word “lent” comes from an ancient term meaning “40 days.”)

Lent is an annual season of trusting in God to cover our weaknesses and make something beautiful of our lives for His glory. The Lenten season ends each year with the solemn memory of Christ’s death on Good Friday, and the celebration of His Resurrection at Easter.

What happens at the Ash Wednesday Service?

Ash Wednesday Service Guide – print format
Ash Wednesday Service Guide – phone format

The Ash Wednesday Service consists of two movements:

The first is Confession/Repentance. We bring all our brokenness, faults, and shortcomings to God. We acknowledge all our limitations and weaknesses before Him… all our sinful and selfish actions, thoughts, words, and inclinations… We bring all our shames and regrets to Him. And we lay all these burdens down – all this weight, all this spiritual baggage we carry around – we lay them all down before God.

And we let go of them.

We release our grip on them – and their grip on us. We entrust them into God’s care and divine covering through the sacred acts of confession and repentance.

No one will see or hear what you confess but God. This Service will not embarrass anyone or spotlight anyone. We come together to be guided through a sacred process of privately confessing our shortcomings to God.

The second half of the Ash Wednesday Service is Absolution/Pardon.

The Ash Wednesday service is a gift to anyone carrying any kind of emotional, mental, or spiritual weight. To bring it all to the feet of God, lay it all down, release it all into His loving care and covering. And to receive His words of blessing and affirmation and warm, loving restoration.

Ash Wednesday is a service in which we remember our mortality and sinfulness – but not in a way that lays more weight upon our souls, but instead in a way that allows us to release them into the care of the all-loving and all-powerful God, who Himself covers and cures all sin.

God Himself pardons and cleanses us from all wrong, and makes us all right in Him. He makes us complete and whole through His gracious love for each and every one of us through Christ.

Who is the Ash Wednesday Service for?

Everyone! You don’t have to be spiritual or religious to enjoy the blessings of Ash Wednesday. You just have to be willing to be honest about your faults, shortcomings, and limitations – and be willing to consider the idea that there may be a Solution for those burdens that exists beyond yourself…

The worst that could happen is that you attend and feel nothing. That’s okay. It costs nothing to try. That’s a low risk compared with the more likely outcome: that God will meet you there and give you a freedom from burdens you never realized possible!

Ash Wednesday is a day to reflect on our mortality – and how God covers us with His immortality.

A day to reflect on our sinfulness – and how God covers us with His righteousness.

A day to grieve our brokenness – and to receive the wonderful miracle of His wholeness.

Ash Wednesday Service Guide – print format
Ash Wednesday Service Guide – phone format