On Ash Wednesday, February 10, three cooperating Bethel churches will offer “Ashes to Go,” a new approach to a centuries-old Christian tradition, at indoor and outdoor locations along Greenwood Avenue.
The First Congregational Church of Bethel, St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, and Bethel United Methodist Church are part of a nationwide movement that has clergy and lay people visiting transit stops, street corners, coffee shops, and college campuses to mark the foreheads of interested passers-by with ashes and invite them to repent of past wrongdoing and seek forgiveness and renewal.
Ashes to Go will be offered from 8 a.m. to noon inside Jacqueline’s, 138 Greenwood Avenue; and 6:30-8:45 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. curbside at Molten Java, 213 Greenwood Avenue.
In the Christian tradition, Ash Wednesday marks the start of the holy season of Lent, a time for reflection and repentance in preparation for the celebration of Easter. For centuries, Christians have received a cross of ashes on the face at the beginning of that season as a reminder of mortal failings and an invitation to receive God’s forgiveness. Ashes to Go provides the opportunity to participate in that tradition for people who have lost their connection to a church, or have never participated before.
“Ashes to Go is about bringing the important traditions of our faith out from behind church walls and into the places we need them every day,” says the Rev. Emily Mellott, who maintains the website AshesToGo.org with resources and stories about this ministry. “The people who accept ashes on the street are often people longing to make a connection between their faith and the forces of daily life, and Ashes to Go helps them feel that connection.”
More information about the Ashes to Go movement can be found at www.AshesToGo.org
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