It’s Ash Wednesday, So — Ashes to Go?

It’s Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of Lent.  But apparently fewer and fewer people go to actual churches these days . . . because no one has time.

A newspaper in New Jersey ran a story on how “Ashes to Go” is more popular than ever.  That’s where priests draw crosses on people’s foreheads outside train stations and coffee shops, so they can just knock it out on their way to work and not be late.

This isn’t a new idea, by the way.  A church in St. Louis started the “Ashes to Go” thing over a decade ago to reach more people.  Then other churches followed suit.

Locally —  St Stephen Martyr Lutheran Church has a drive-thru Ashes Distribution until 9 a.m.; there’s another two-hour event from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m… There are also traditional services at 12 noon and 7 p.m… St Stephen is at the intersection of Fulton Drive and Dressler Road in Jackson Township.