On Ash Wednesday, March 1, St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral clergy and volunteers will be offering “Ashes to Go,” a new approach to a centuries-old Christian tradition, at time and place.
St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral is part of a new nationwide movement that has clergy and lay people visiting transit stops, street corners, coffee shops, and college campuses to mark the foreheads of interested passers-by with ashes and invite them to repent of past wrongdoing and seek forgiveness and renewal.
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, Christians have received a cross of ashes on the face at the beginning of that season as a reminder of mortal failings and an invitation to receive God’s forgiveness. Ashes to Go provides the opportunity to participate in that tradition for people who have lost their connection to a church, or have never participated before.
“Ashes to Go is about bringing the important traditions of our faith out from behind church walls and into the places we need them every day,” says the Very Reverend Penny Bridges, Dean of the Cathedral, “As people get busier and busier, we need the church in new and non-traditional ways. We especially need reminders of forgiveness in the tough places of our working lives. 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 San Diego, St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral is offering Ashes to Go for the fourth year in a row. Last year 40 volunteers and clergy offered Ashes and blessings to over 500 people and received over 200 prayers requests. This year over 40 volunteers and clergy, including Spanish speakers will be at 8 locations around the city from 7:30 to noon, including City Hall and the Hall of Justice.
What are the locations ?