Ash Wednesday Service at Mount Calvary
Each year the Christian Church begins the season of Lent with the solemn observance of Ash Wednesday, a day set apart for repentance, reflection, and renewed trust in the mercy of God. At Mount Calvary Lutheran Church near Lancaster, PA, we invite our neighbors throughout Lancaster County and the surrounding communities to join us for this important service as we enter the Lenten journey together.
For many people searching for an Ash Wednesday Service near Lancaster, PA, or an Ash Wednesday Service near Lititz, PA, this day offers an opportunity to pause amid busy routines and consider life in light of God’s Word. Ash Wednesday reminds us of both our mortality and our need for God’s grace. The words spoken as ashes are placed upon the forehead echo the Lord’s words to Adam: “For you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). Yet the ashes are traced in the shape of the cross, pointing us to Christ, who has overcome sin and death for us.
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Throughout Scripture, ashes serve as a sign of repentance and humility before God. Job repented in dust and ashes (Job 42:6), and the people of Nineveh responded to God’s warning with fasting and ashes. Jesus Himself refers to repentance expressed in “sackcloth and ashes” (Matthew 11:21). Ash Wednesday continues this biblical pattern, calling Christians to turn again from sin and to trust fully in the Gospel.
At Mount Calvary, the Ash Wednesday service is not meant to burden consciences but to comfort them. The service centers on Christ’s saving work and His promise to forgive sinners. Through Scripture readings, preaching, prayer, and the reception of Holy Communion, we hear again Christ’s call: “Repent, and believe in the Gospel” (Mark 1:15). Repentance is not despair, but the beginning of renewal in the grace of God. The Church has observed this day for centuries as the beginning of Lent, a forty-day season of preparation leading to the celebration of Easter. Lutherans have retained this observance not as a way to earn God’s favor, but as a faithful way to prepare hearts to hear again the story of Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection.
If you are seeking an Ash Wednesday Mass or service in the Lancaster area, we warmly invite you to join us at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church on February 18th. Our congregation gathers in reverent, historic worship centered on Christ and His gifts for His people. To learn more about the meaning of Ash Wednesday and the history of this observance, we invite you to read our full article exploring this important day and how it prepares us to walk the path toward Easter in faith and hope.
As someone who did not grow up in the Confessional Lutheran Church, or any historic tradition, the Ash Wednesday Service has become one of our families favorite services in the Church year. Embracing the historic Church’s liturgical lifestyle of recognizing the days of gathering connects us to the Christian Church from millennia past. Come and join us at Mount Calvary in repentance and receive the assurance of your forgiven sins.