Taking Ash Wednesday to the Street

A week ago, we began the season of Lent with Ash Wednesday.  During my meditation, I told a story about how a newscaster in Britain forgot about the holiday a few years ago when reporting on Vice President Joe Biden, a practicing Catholic, and wondered what caused the dark spot on his forehead.

A Methodist church in Washington DC attempted to address the challenge of helping people remember Ash Wednesday.  They met morning commuters outside a Metro station and offered ashes to them on their way into the city.  The weekly PBS show Religion and Ethics Newsweekly did a short piece on this unique way to observe the holiday over the weekend, which you can watch here.

While I'm always excited when Christians think outside the box, I worry that there's something missing here.  Part of Ash Wednesday is receiving ashes on one's forehead, but the more important part is the act of confession -- the ashes are an outward sign of an inward act.  Of course, you could argue that receiving ashes on the street will encourage some to confess that otherwise might not have.

Speaking of reminders -- don't forget Eastgate's Wednesday night Lenten prayer service tonight at 6:30.