Monday, February 23, 2009

You've Got a Bit of Ash on Your Forehead

Churches across the city will be holding Ash Wednesday services today. In addition to the religious significance of the holiday, it is a visual reminder that there is a unity among believers that transcends what church you attend.

Below is a small sampling. Please use the comments section to add your church's Ash Wednesday services.

Trinity Grace:::
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, the time of preparation before Easter. We will meet together as a citywide church family for a liturgical service---more somber than our usual gatherings, there may be ashes, it will be beautiful and meaningful as we meet Christ in his sufferings.

Join us on Wed Feb 25, St Paul's German Church, 22nd between 8th and 9th, 7pm.
Transmission:::
This Wednesday, we’re celebrating the first day of lent by taking a bunch of ashes and…. making them into soap! Ha, that’s not what you were expecting me to say, was it?

In any case, in the grand tradition of Fight Club, we’ll be making soap as a penitential act (although we’ll be using goatsmilk, honey, and palm oil rather than animal fat). We’ll be providing burnables (paper, palm leaves, etc), but you’re welcome to bring things of your own that might having meaning to you - just be sure that anything you bring to burn is free from chemicals, plastic, etc. Through the course of the evening, we’ll turn our confessions, transgressions, and deconstructions into a cleansing, frothy, ritual bar which we can use for the next forty days. Seriously, it’s hard to find time in our busy days for prayer and meditation, and shower time seems as good a time as any.


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