As part of being a part of a "trend" that's recently appeared among clergy this Lenten season, and to keep up with my goals of "calling, mission, and vision" for myself as a pastor and for the church I serve, I decided to take Ash Wednesday to the community this year. I also wanted to do something outside of my comfort zone, and this definitely fit into that category! So this past Wednesday, I ventured out into the cold, with Corey along for moral support, and we stood at the main street corner in Morgantown from 8:00 am-11:30 am holding this sign:
...and waited for people to come. In the meantime, we smiled and waved at cars who passed by and had some laughs at people who gave us really weird looks, and some that honked and waved at us with a thumbs up. As the morning went on, we had 6 people total show up, and only one of them was a church member, so I was able to reach out to people that were not part of my congregation. The great thing was that each person that I "ashed" was different: a young woman, an older woman, a woman in her late 40s-early 50s, and an African American man (rare in Morgantown!) in his 30s (?) who happened to be Catholic. After he left, Corey pointed out that what had just happened was a very rare sight- a woman imposing ashes on a Catholic, AND a person of color being in Morgantown! He said that he and his family were just passing through, but I was really excited to have some diversity! There were also people that came over to talk to us out of mere curiosity and to find out what in the world we were doing. I also got to meet the town superintendent and several other local people, which was good because they were able to put a face with "the new young lady pastor in town." (Ha!) I had cards that I was handing out with a prayer before receiving the ashes, and also a little blurb about why we put ashes on our foreheads for Ash Wednesday. I also included the name of the church, our website, and worship times. Everyone we spoke to was friendly and thought it was a good message and a "needed" thing that we were doing. The people who received ashes all seemed very grateful that I was there. Several said "thank you- I won't be able to make it to church today, so this is much appreciated!"
So why did we choose to spend our Ash Wednesday morning outside in the freezing cold holding a sign and ashing people? It definitely got me outside of my comfort zone, but the most important thing is that we took the church out into the community, even if it was only for a few hours. This also sent a message to my congregation that we should be a people that serve this community, not just pray for them in church, but to really get out and do something. It was something I could do to set an example, and it was easy with not much prep, so it worked well. And even though not many people stopped, we were still seen and acknowledged, and maybe got people to at least pause and be reminded that it is the beginning of Lent, or to at least go home and google "Ash Wednesday."
I thought the experiment was a success, and I'm glad I did it (after we were thawed out!) I was also so thankful for my supportive and encouraging husband who took this adventure with me. I will probably do it again next year, although I will probably opt for an inside location next time!
The Ash Wednesday fun continued with our evening worship. Since this is my first Lent season with this congregation, and they had not had an Ash Wed. service in several years, I really did not know what to expect. We had a small crowd, but out of that small crowed, we had 3 visitors! It was an intimate setting, and I thought it was all very moving. We had songs, scripture, a special reading (a poem), communion, ashes, and I preached. The crowd might have been small, but the energy was high, the Spirit was active. It was the first time in a long time that I felt I actually worshiped while leading. I'm now trying to decide if we will have a Good Friday service- if the same people just came back, that would be just fine with me! I just want to offer as many opportunities for worship and spiritual formation as I can. I know that's needed, and it's something I enjoy doing.
Tomorrow, I will begin a sermon series, Adam Hamilton's Final Words from the Cross. This is the first time I will do a sermon series, so here we go!
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