People do not have any excuses to not actively participate on this year’s Lent Season as Churches takes “Ash Wednesday” to the streets again this year.
“Ashes to go” is a modern version of the tradition of receiving the holy cross through the ashes which is the start of the Holy Season of Lent.
Aside from people attending the church service, with this modern spin off of the tradition, churches now offer smudging the Holy Cross symbol on the forehead to anyone who seeks for it in coffee shops, train stations and other public places.
Rev. Margaret Otterburn, Rector of Church of the Messiah, in Chester, New Jersey said “Ashes to Go” is part of clergy and lay people’s movement nationwide in visiting busy public places to offer ashes.
Otterburn said that the church has been doing the said movement for several years already and has received positive feedback for it.
“As people get busier and busier, we need the church in new and non-traditional ways.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.” Otterburn shared.
In Christian tradition, “Ash Wednesday” starts the Holy Season of Lent in which church encourages everyone to reflect and repent in preparation for Easter Celebration.
For many years, the ash cross is a symbol to mortal failures and is an invitation that an individual is ready and willing to receive God’s forgiveness.
