Today is Ash Wednesday--a day when many Christians go to church to have ashes put on their foreheads as a reminder of their mortality and need for a Savior. Some people, however, are too busy to attend a church service today, and for these people, Church of England clergy have a solution.
Clergy members came up with an innovative scheme called “Ash n’ Dash." They have set up areas where workers can receive prayer and ashes on their foreheads in city centers of a number of towns in the UK.
“The opportunity to take to the streets in a public act of witness and worship on Ash Wednesday seems too good a gift to pass up!” said Rev. Tiffany-Alice Ewins.
“The idea is to offer a moment of connection with the reality that we are all mortal – just dust. And a moment to meditate on the truth that Jesus' resurrection transforms that dust into invaluable people of infinite hope. Just a moment in the day to encounter God,” she continued.
“So with the ash of burnt palm crosses, outside our local library on a Wednesday afternoon some of us will be showing and telling that death is real, but resurrection is realer still.”
People have taken to Twitter to share their experiences participating in “Ash n’ Dash,” using the hashtag “#ashestogo.”
Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com
Publication date: March 1, 2017