It was as though the weather had decided to play its part in the start of Lent and our Ash Wednesday service here at St Cuthbert's North Wembley. The heavens had opened and it was a grim old night. As we gathered before the service we reckoned that we might be lucky to get a handful to the service.
But the weather certainly added to the atmosphere. The church itself was in semi dark. Our altar was cloaked in penitential purple.
Just sometimes in the church you get a sense of the weight of history and this was one of those nights. As we got to 7.30 people began to come, shaking their raincoats and trailing in. And by start time, amazingly, the church seemed quite full.
And so in the dim light with rain hammering on the roof and the church sombre we celebrated Ash Wednesday. It was one of the most powerful services I can remember.
And what made it so powerful was the reaction of the congregation. Many who came were quite young, new to church. Rather than finding the service arcane they were caught up in symbolism of the ashing and the words of the liturgy.
What also had a strong impact was the emphasis on repentance – perhaps because it was a shared experience. You might perhaps imagine that repentance has had its day. That in a world of building self-esteem, self-affirmation and the like that an honest look at what we are made of might not have any appeal. But as I read John Donne's Hymn to God the Father, the congregation were caught up in the mystery of grace and the freedom of being able to be honest about ourselves.
Wilt thou forgive that sin where I begun,
Which was my sin, though it were done before?
Wilt thou forgive that sin, through which I run,
And do run still, though still I do deplore?
When thou hast done, thou hast not done,
For I have more.
Wilt thou forgive that sin which I have won
Others to sin, and made my sin their door?
Wilt thou forgive that sin which I did shun
A year or two, but wallow'd in, a score?
When thou hast done, thou hast not done,
For I have more.
I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun
My last thread, I shall perish on the shore;
But swear by thyself, that at my death thy Son
Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore;
And, having done that, thou hast done;
I fear no more.
This is not an either/or. Sermon series, worship bands singing chirpy rock songs and the like are ace. But the power of the ancient services and the pull of the seasonality of the church year have a dramatic impact on those who are unchurched or new to church, as well as those of us who have been coming for some years.
In the semi-darkness watching a line of people snake up to the front waiting to have their foreheads ashed we all experienced something of what C S Lewis called 'the deeper magic'.
Lent has lost none of its power. The pull of the grace of God and the need to make good with him, with ourselves and with those around us is part of a worldview that makes as much sense now as it ever did.
I wish you a holy Lent.
Rev Steve Morris is the parish priest of St Cuthbert's North Wembley. Before being a priest he was a writer and ran a brand agency. In the 1980s he tried to become a pop star. Follow him on Twitter @SteveMorris214
