Ashes-to-go programs at area churches fit busy lifestyles
There are a number of reasons congregants opt for ashes “to go” on Ash Wednesday, says the Rev. Ryan Hawthorne of Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church in the Museum District.
Students and professors walk to class at Rice University, just across Main Street from the church. To the north stands the Houston Museum of Natural Science, to the west stretches Hermann Park and the Houston Zoo.
And to the south, Texas Medical Center is abuzz with doctors, medical staff, patients and visitors. Hawthorne often hears sirens as ambulances rush down Main and Life Flight buzzes overhead.
Busy schedules basically make ashes to go a necessity in the area, she says.
Palmer’s traditional Ash Wednesday services, offered at 7 a.m., noon and 7 p.m., simply will not fit into everyone’s day, whether work, a medical treatment, classes or child care stands in the way.
And that’s why the church sets up shop on the sidewalks from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the holy day, which falls on Feb. 22 this year.
Church clergy and lay volunteers offer ashes to passersby — and those who prefer to drive through.
Last year, the church added “Uber ashes,” a delivery to about two dozen residents of a nearby assisted living facility.
Cruising in for ashes
Hawthorne has witnessed a bus driver stop, and then several passengers ask for ashes. She has seen people roll down windows and ask if they can receive ashes before the light changes to green.
She even watched as a volunteer climbed up to reach the forehead of a semitrailer driver seated in his cab.
There is also a lot of foot traffic, Hawthorne says.
“Many people will make it a point to walk from St. Luke’s, Methodist or Memorial Hermann for ashes, and then go back to work,” she says.
Ashes to go also appeals to those who might feel uncomfortable inside a church, for whatever reasons, the priest says.
“The rituals the church offers are still meaningful to them, but being inside the church isn’t an option,” she says. “This is a way for them to still engage.”
Sometimes there is conversation. “And some just want ashes and then want to go,” Hawthorne says.
Regardless, all are welcome. “It’s a way of offering prayer and being in community with people who are just passing by,” she says.
Several other congregations around town are also finding a way to accommodate busy schedules with their Ash Wednesday services.
At House of Prayer Lutheran Church, Pastor Eric Youngdahl has seen police officers, postal vehicles and dump trucks cruise in for ashes. Sometimes, one person drives through and returns later with the entire family.
Last year, 434 people drove through, while about 50 attended worship services later that night inside the church.
“We get far more people in the parking lot than in the building,” Youngdahl says.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
Ash Wednesday is a holy day in many Christian denominations; it derives its name from the ritual of placing ashes on the foreheads of participants.
Usually, the words spoken are some variation of “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” or “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Hawthorne explains that the ashes used are from the previous year’s Palm Sunday fronds.
At Palmer, there is an extra layer of symbolism — as palms are part of the congregation’s name, the priest says.
The church’s namesake is Edward Albert Palmer, who heroically lost his life while saving his sister, Daphne Palmer Neville. She later became the founding donor of the congregation.
“Palmer” was also the word for a Christian pilgrim in the Middle Ages. These travelers would bring back palm leaves folded into a cross as a souvenir from the Holy Land.
“We like to think about ourselves as pilgrims on a journey of Christianity, and that as such, we should always be a witness for Jesus Christ,” Hawthorne says. “We’re always encountering God.”
Ash Wednesday is part of that process, a time to remember mortality and be thankful for our time on Earth, she says.
“In the Episcopal Church, our funeral liturgy names death as not an end,” she says. “It’s a change in the status of life. You’re going from a physical life to a spiritual life.”
The Rev. Donyale Fraylon, executive pastor at Clear Lake UMC, says that Ash Wednesday is a somber time.
“It puts us in touch with our death and how being cognizant of death informs the way we are living,” she says. “It’s really what the Lenten season is about, and making space for God.”
Lent is a time of fasting, repentance and spiritual discipline in preparation for Easter, the pastor says.
“The whole message of Easter is that death is not the final word,” Fraylon says. “We believe in Jesus’ resurrection. As He was raised, our belief is, so shall we.”
That hope exists in the contemplation of mortality and repentance of
Ash Wednesday and Lent.
“We are not alone on this journey,” Fraylon said. “God is with us.”
A little prayer time — in the parking lot
The House of Prayer Lutheran
Church has offered ashes to go since since 2014. “We didn’t invent it, but we jumped on the bandwagon,” Youngdahl said. “Now other churches are popping up doing it, too, and I think that’s great.”
The more the merrier when it comes to making spirituality accessible, he says. “This does tap people back into their faith life,” he says.
For instance, Youngdahl recalls a man driving through the line who told him, “This is exactly what I needed, a little prayer time.”
“It’s just neat to see that, to know that we do make a difference in people’s lives, whether we see it or not,” Youngdahl said. “It’s all about asking how we can shine some light on people and let them know they are cared for and loved.”
When the House of Prayer began offering ashes, there were concerns that the program might fail.
“But it didn’t,” he says. “It really fit a need in this community, and we’ve been doing it ever since.”
Youngdahl says that the imposition of ashes can start a conversation about faith — or serve mainly as a personal reminder of mortality and God.
A number of people come to the ashes-to-go service each year, the pastor says.
“For them, this is a church,” Youngdahl says. “We’re providing a way for people to have church that’s a little different.”
“If you are driving by, perfect,” he says. “Swing in. It won’t take long, and hopefully, it will be a meaningful part of your day.”