Yesterday, I, like many of my colleagues throughout the Episcopal
Church participated in an event called “Ashes to Go.” “Ashes to Go” is an event that enables folks
who can’t make it to church on Ash Wednesday to receive the imposition of
ashes. All over this country and in many places abroad, folks received ashes on
street corners, at train stations, in coffee houses and, in our case, a parking
lot. Yesterday, the snow covered black
top of our parking lot on East Quaker became holy ground for two hours as folks
encountered moments of grace in the midst of hectic, crazy lives. God was alive and present in each of those
encounters.
My thumb after a hard days work! |
All in all, we gave out ashes to more than 140 folk through
our “Ashes to Go” event.
What I realized yesterday, which I already knew with my head,
was that even as church attendance has been sliding, there is still a deep
desire by those beyond our doors to connect with God. Again and again as folks wiped tears away or
profusely thanked us for braving the frigid temperatures, I saw a deep spiritual
hunger in folks that can only be filled by God. People wanted moments of connection, moments
of grace, and moments of peace that only God can provide.
This is my third year participating in “Ashes to Go” and
again I was awed by the presence of Jesus in each of those holy encounters. What a privilege it is to serve Christ and
serve my neighbors. As I reflect on “Ashes to Go,” I wonder how
else might we feed the spiritually hungry beyond the doors of our
churches?
Amen
ReplyDeleteThanks Marty!
DeleteThanks for sharing your experience Sean. It appears that more people are coming to embrace the concept of Church beyond the walls.
ReplyDeleteThanks Joe--I think we are just hitting the tip of the iceberg- when thinking about the Church beyond our walls. I don't know what the Church will look like in the years to come- but I think there will need to be more opportunities like Ashes-to-Go to engage those beyond our walls. I'm both excited and nervous about the future of the Church.
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