Ash Wednesday
March 5, 2025
At Bethel UMC this Ash Wednesday, an in-person Lenten Bible Study: "Around the Table with Jesus" will begin at 6:00 pm, continuing for the next 6 Wednesdays. In addition, this online service page will provide an entry point to a 10 week series of Lenten service plans prepared by the UMC Discipleship Ministries. The remaining set of "service plans" will be on the "Resource Pages" for Bethel's online services. The graphic images at the top of these pages will provide links to other service plans in the series as they become available.
This page has links to information used or encountered in preparing this online service. Topics for Today
Wikipedia is a frequent source
for information in these articles.
Ash Wednesday
When did Ash Wednesday begin and why do we celebrate it?
What about Fasting?
10 ideas for a more meaningful Ash Wednesday
Lent from wikipedia.org
40 Days of Lent: Find your own spiritual path
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Guidance from UMC Discipleship Ministries
Weekly Worship Planning Series
Note: This material from UDM is not the basis for today's message
but is provided here for your personal study and reflection. Click here for suggestions about how to use this material.
Worship Series: "Steadfast Love: A Lenten Playlist" but is provided here for your personal study and reflection. Click here for suggestions about how to use this material.
from umcdiscipleship.org
A playlist? For the season of Lent? A Lenten playlist? What an odd idea. Lent is often seen as a somber and even silent season. Certainly, there is space for contemplation, for embracing the quiet, for being still to seek out God. Many of us, however, find music a helpful tool for contemplation. So, we offer this playlist as another tool for your worship experience this season. We chose a song for each worship moment in the series from Ash Wednesday through Easter Sunday. We aren’t suggesting that these are to be used in worship, unless that fits your context. Rather, this is preparation work, thinking about making connections, about plumbing the depths of heart and soul, of the community of faith and the wider culture. However you use them, let music be a guide into worship this Lent.
This is the First service of a 10 service Worship Series from the Discipleship Ministries.The graphics at the top of this page list topics for other services of the Series.
(Click on another graphic to see that session's resource page)
This Service's Theme: "Sustain in Me"
Liturgical Resources
Ash Wednesday begins our Lenten journey, and it can be – needs to be – both an individual and a corporate experience.
Worship Planning NotesPreaching Notes
Lectionary Scriptures:
Joel 2:1-2; 12-17; Psalm 51:1-17; 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10; Matthew 6:1-6,16-21;
Suggested Hymns . Music Notes. DM Accompaniments Sources of Music for the following hymns are:
- UMH CD.....UDM - DM Accompaniment.....
MM/DD/YY - Recorded Service
Hymns Suggested For this service: .
Verses .
"Sunday's Palms Are Wednesday's Ashes"
355 -
.
Verses - "Depth of Mercy! Can There Be"
488 -
.
Verses .
"Jesus, Remember Me"
655 -
.
Verses - "Fix Me Jesus"
2133 -
.
Verses - "Give Me a Clean Heart"