Wed. Message

June 25, 2025

Glitter and Ashes

 

Every year on Ash Wednesday, I dip my thumb into ashes and draw a cross on people’s foreheads.  As I do, I speak the ancient words: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”  It’s a sober moment.  Ash Wednesday invites us to face hard truths — that we are mortal, that we are finite, and that we are fallible.  We name our sins.  We confess the ways we have hurt others, failed to love, failed to act with justice.  We acknowledge guilt — not to wallow in it, but to tell the truth.

 

And yet, even as the ashes mark our brokenness, they proclaim something deeper: that we are more than our failures.  That we are loved.  That we are forgiven.  That we are dust, yes — but beloved dust formed in the image of God.

 

Ash Wednesday, at its best, subverts shame.  It allows us to face guilt honestly — “I did something bad” — while refusing the toxic lie of shame: “I am bad.”  The cross traced in ash whispers: You are not your mistakes.

 

And then, a few months later, I find myself standing at Pride, glitter on my thumb instead of ashes, once again tracing crosses on foreheads.  And the words are different, too:

"You are loved, and you are lovely.  You shine with your own unique light, and you reflect the light you find in others.  May you be strong.  May you be vulnerable.  May you be your true, authentic self.  May you be always and forever blessed."

 

The glitter blessing picks up where Ash Wednesday leaves off.  Because for LGBTQ+ people, the challenge isn’t just letting go of guilt.  It’s letting go of misplaced shame.  The glitter blessing says: Your identity is not a sin to repent of.  Your love is not a mistake to overcome.  Your existence does not need forgiveness — it needs celebration.  

 

Both ashes and glitter mark our foreheads.  Both tell the truth.  Both subvert shame.  But where the ashes say, You are not your failures, the glitter says, You were never a failure to begin with.

 

Prayer:

God of grace and glitter, thank you for the honesty of confession, and for the freedom of forgiveness.  Teach us to name our guilt without drowning in shame.  And teach us, too, to let go of false guilt.  May we proclaim to every person we meet: You are loved.  You are lovely.  You shine.  Amen.

 

 

Coffee, June 29, 2025:  Rose Moehring

Please join us upstairs before church and downstairs in the Fellowship Hall following the worship service on Sunday mornings for coffee and treats, everyone is always welcome.

 Bible Study, the 2nd & 4th Sunday of the month at 3pm with Pastor Dustin, everyone is always welcome to

  join us.    

  

Watertown Pride in the Park 2025 will be held on Saturday, June 28, 2025, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Foundation Park in downtown Watertown, South Dakota. It will be the sixth year of the event and will feature food trucks, live music, drag shows, vendors, and various activities.

 

                    Money Counters:       

             June    29 – Rosanne Anderson

             July    06 – Cyndy Voight

             July    13 – Sue Pearson

 

                 New Email Addresses for Church Staff
All of the staff at First Congregational UCC now have new email addresses!

• Pastor Dustin: pastor@uccwatertown.com

• Ginny (Office Administrator): admin@uccwatertown.com

• Brenda (Treasurer): treasurer@uccwatertown.com