by Leland Spencer
Oh God, on this Ash Wednesday, we reflect with contrition on our sin
And on the condition of Sin that separates us from you.
We grieve for our own sins of commission and omission, and
We grieve the sins of others that harm us.
Forgive us, and help us forgive others.
Forgive your Church for its sins of exclusion and close-mindedness and hardness of heart,
And continue to call your Church to embrace the inclusive heart of its Creator.
Forgive your Church for the pain it causes by ignorance, or by hate, whether well-intentioned or ill.
Bring healing to the wounds within the Church, and the wounds the Church has caused outside itself.
Forgive your Church for exiling some of your children,
And draw those children near to your nurturing bosom.
Forgive us, Oh God, in this movement, for our own self-righteousness,
For focusing so much on our oppression that we lose sight of our privilege,
For becoming oppressors even in the midst of emancipation work.
Forgive us for our judgmental attitudes, our own close-mindedness, and our resistance to dissent.
Help us to learn from those who disagree with us, even as we hope they will learn from us.
Oh God, on this day when we remember our mortality,
Help us to remember as well your grace.
Prepare us in heart, mind, soul, and body, as You
Guide us in this season of Lent toward the promise of resurrection.
Leland G. Spencer IV, a lifelong United
Methodist, is a PhD student in the department of speech communication
at the University of Georgia, where he researches religious rhetoric as
it intersects with gender and sexuality. Leland holds an M.A. in
Communication from the University of Cincinnati (2009). While in
Cincinnati, Leland served as the worship intern at the Wesley
Foundation. Leland served as a
part-time local pastor at Mapleton United Methodist Church in the East
Ohio Conference from 2005 until 2007 when Leland withdrew from the
candidacy process because of the United Methodist Church's exclusive
position about the ordination of LGBT persons.
Reconciling Ministries Network mobilizes United Methodists of all sexual orientations and gender identities to transform our Church and world into the full expression of Christ’s inclusive love.
