Join us for Holy Eucharist and Administration of Ashes as we mark the start of Lent with services at noon and 7 p.m.
Ash Wednesday is the first of the forty days of Lent, named for the custom of placing blessed ashes on the foreheads of worshipers at Ash Wednesday services. The ashes are a sign of penitence and a reminder of mortality, and may be imposed with the sign of the cross. Ash Wednesday is observed as a fast in the church year of the Episcopal Church. The Ash Wednesday service is one of the Proper Liturgies for Special Days in the BCP (p. 264). Imposition of ashes at the Ash Wednesday service is optional.
An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church
One year into the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, Bishop Neil Alexander published a helpful understanding of what the ashes do (and don’t) convey, and helped the church think about how to approach Ash Wednesday at a time when many people still were self-quarantined. Learn more here!
