Churches are taking Ash Wednesday to the streets again this year.
Dubbed "Ashes to Go," the practice is a modern spin on the tradition of receiving a cross of ashes at the beginning of the holy season of Lent.
Instead of sitting through a service, churches offering Ashes to Go, give the Christian sign of repentance — a smudged cross of ashes on the forehead — to anyone who seeks it in train stations, coffee shops and other public spots.
Rev. Margaret Otterburn, Rector of Church of the Messiah, in Chester, N.J., said Ashes to Go is part of a nationwide movement of clergy and lay people visiting busy public spaces to offer ashes.
Otterburn said the church has been participating in Ashes to Go for several years and has received significant positive feedback.
"As people get busier and busier, we need the church in new and non-traditional ways," Otterburn said. "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."
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, the ash cross has served as a reminder of mortal failings and an invitation to receive God's forgiveness.
Taking ashes on the road started in St. Louis in 2007 when the Rev. Teresa K.M. Danieley decided that if people can grab breakfast on the go, why shouldn't they be able to get their ashes in a flash?
"It started sort of half-jokingly, but it became something pretty profound," she told Religion News Service in 2012.
Rev. Emily Mellott of Calvary Church in Lombard, Ill., and author of AshesToGo.org, keeps a running list of places where people can find Ashes to Go or share their experiences.
Find an Ashes to Go in your area.
