I wish I had the courage the streets with a bowl of ashes today. And why, you might ask. This is Ash Wednesday -- rather early this year -- and we will have a service this evening in the quiet and comfortable safety of our chapel at Bridge St. Even though Ash Wednesday is "new" to the United Church it isn't really, because I have been doing this for more than 30 years in various congregations. It is more accurate to describe it as unfamiliar to a lot of Protestants, a liturgical tune a lot of us just don't feel comfortable humming. Yet I always find preparing for Ash Wednesday with its message of repentance and a renewed heart quite meaningful.
Still, Ashes-to-Go? In her recent book City of God: Faith in the Streets, Sara Miles tells of heading out in her San Francisco neighbourhood with the traditional Episcopalian (Anglican) Ash Wednesday liturgy, and ashes mixed with oil for imposition, or anointing. They wore albs as well, so they looked rather churchy.
There are a growing number of congregations in cities around the world which have decided that instead of waiting for people to show up they better get out where the people are. This really isn't so strange, if you think about it. Lots of the prophets did street minister, and that Jesus guy. The birthday of the church on the day of Pentecost involved the followers of Jesus getting kicked out of an upper room by the Holy Spirit and a spirited sermon being delivered by Peter. The apostle Paul did a lot of preaching and teaching in public squares because, well, there were no churches. There is even an Ashes to Go website and Facebook page http://ashestogo.org/about/
Ruth, my wife, heard about a church in Toronto which will take Ash Wednesday to the streets tomorrow and, sure enough, Holy Trinity Anglican has two services. One is in the evening in the church and the noontime service is on what will surely be the chilly streets of T.O.
Ashes to go...maybe next year.
What do you think of this? Just a fad, or something which really makes sense in a time when a growing number of people wouldn't darken the door of a church? Will you attend an Ash Wednesday service today?
We were passing through Detroit last year on Ash Wednesday and heard drive-thru options to be anointed being advertised. I suppose that is still a "cautious" approach as the individual still has to approach us....the courage seems to be in going out to the streets ourselves...hmmmm.
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