We were blessed to be a blessing to others Wednesday morning with “Ashes to Go.” Receiving ashes as we begin our journey in Lent can be a meaningful and powerful experience. Many expressed gratitude for being able to start their day in this way, enabling them to share their faith with others through the mark they bear on their forehead all day long.
Although these encounters with others were brief - as ashes were received and a prayer was shared - they gave us an opportunity for connection to one another. There was the woman who shared this was an emotional experience for her and spent some time in prayer in her car before leaving our parking lot…The mom of two boys who told us that receiving a nice cup of hot chocolate made her boys’ day as they headed off to school…The members of other faith communities who thanked us for this early morning option before they headed in to work...And the parishoner who shared a photo of the stone wall inside our sanctuary, with an outline of Jesus found within the stones and highlighted. (See photo below.)
On this day, and throughout Lent, may we all be blessed with the reminder of our shared humanity and be stretched towards a deeper relationship with God, ourselves, and each other.
