By Michael Gryboski, Editor
Many churches will note the starting of the liturgical season of Lent by retaining Ash Wednesday companies all the procedure through which attendees receive a negative fabricated from ashes on their foreheads.
While this ritual is usually performed all the procedure through a solemn deal with provider, some churches bestow the ash negative on of us that are proper passing through through vehicle or a metro whine.
One such congregation is Centreville United Methodist Church of Centreville, Virginia, which has provided “ashes to head” for busy commuters for the past couple of years.
The Rev. Matthew G. Smith, lead pastor at Centreville UMC, advised The Christian Post that he first performed an “ashes to head” match at a metro whine 10 years ago.
“The response became overwhelmingly sure, with many commuters expressing gratitude for the opportunity to birth up their day with this meaningful Lenten observance. As a result, we expanded the prepare to a couple of metro locations,” explained Smith.
“When I started serving at Centreville UMC, where there’s no metro whine, we tailored the prepare into a pressure-thru format to meet people where they’re — offering ashes as they birth their morning shuttle.”
Along with the imposing of ashes on the brow, every commuter who involves the pressure-thru ashes match additionally receives a rapid prayer, primarily based completely completely on Smith, and a diminutive card with a Scripture-primarily based completely completely reflection relating to the Lenten season.
“Our hope is that this expertise serves as a holy moment in the midst of a busy day, allowing people to stop, instruct, and embody the non secular significance of Ash Wednesday,” Smith acknowledged.
“It’s a visual and non-public act of religion — one who reminds us of our mortality, our need for grace, and the hope we relish in Christ. It’s a strategy of carrying one’s religion boldly whereas humbly relying on God’s saving grace.”
The Rev. Doug Cushing, senior pastor at The Bridge Presbyterian Church of Leland, North Carolina, advised CP that his congregation first held their pressure-thru ashes match “a bit out of necessity.”
“For the length of the pandemic, we sensed a deep need in people to reconnect with a church whereas additionally a favor to be linked with about a of the rituals of the church,” Cushing added.
“The muse of a pressure-thru imposition of ashes perceived to beget the need of contributors to reconnect with God, the Church and the rituals many had been missing.”
2025 marks the fifth yr that Bridge Presbyterian has provided the pressure-thru Ash Wednesday match, with Cushing telling CP that he has been taken aback by the sure response.
“We never envisioned that the pressure-thru ash imposition would change into so in style and liked,” he acknowledged. “We typically relish over 200 of us pressure through at either our midday hour time slot or our 4:Forty five to 6 time slot.”
“We peep of us who come serve every yr. Most frequently, we meet of us that birth up weeping all the procedure through our instant ritual. A bunch of occasions, people lift the household and the household pet and accomplish it an adventure.”
Cushing’s church additionally presents prayer and free Lenten devotional guides to the commuters, apart from to extra information about his rising congregation.
“All we hope for is that we are going to have the opportunity to be a blessing, the tangible touch of God to all individuals who participates,” he illustrious. “That acknowledged, we peep people whose lives are touched and who truly feel they relish got reconnected with God and God with them.”
Marion Phipps, rector at St. Hugh of Lincoln Episcopal Church of Elgin, Illinois, advised CP that he became in the starting put “skeptical when of us started speaking about” doing an ashes to head match, noting that “it became laborious to take a look at why that might well be meaningful.”
“Some of my colleagues had been exhibiting up at prepare stations early in the morning on Ash Wednesday to supply people ashes,” Phipps recalled. “I talked to 1 among my supreme mates from seminary who had done it and he talked about what a fantastic expertise it became being able to not supreme provide ashes to of us but additionally pray with them.”
Phipps explained that his church is “situated at the corner of a busy street” and that “it appeared that shall we entice some people on their procedure home from work who might well favor to receive ashes but might well also not relish the time or inclination to appear at out a provider.”
St. Hugh of Lincoln first did a pressure thru ashes match in 2020, with volunteers additionally offering commuters with a pamphlet with extra recordsdata relating to the history of Ash Wednesday, apart from to an invitation to affix them for companies.
“Additionally, we encompass information about what our Lenten ogle program will be that yr and an invitation for them to affix us for that,” acknowledged Phipps.
“I additionally question if there may maybe be the rest they’d love me to pray for them about. This yr, we’re offering a prayer card with the prayer attributed to St. Francis. Some years, we’ve given them a Lenten Devotional with the pamphlet.”
When requested by CP what he hopes commuters will rob away from the pressure-thru expertise, Phipps answered: “My hope for them is the similar as it’s for my parishioners who relief companies. That one procedure or the other the invitation to a holy lent will plant a seed that may maybe trigger them to additional discover their relationship with God, and in that time spent, they’ll gain themselves engaged in a deeper relationship with God.”
“In the guide of James, it says to ‘plot advance to God and God will plot advance to you.’ I hope it’s a seed planted that continues to develop for the length of the Lenten season and past.”
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