February 17, 6 to 7 p.m.
You can stop by the Hope Church parking lot to receive the imposition of ashes. While we typically include this symbolic ritual as part of a service of worship, the pastors have participated in recent years in Ashes on the Go on the streets of Holland. On the Ashes to Go website, the impetus for this relatively new practice (at least among protestant congregations) is described this way: “Imagine: It’s an ordinary weekday, and in the middle of your daily tasks, you stumble into a moment of prayer. The street corner, the coffee shop, or some other ordinary place is suddenly a place where God has come to meet you. The church has come out from behind the comfortable pews and doors to be in the places where the rubber meets the road.
It’s Ash Wednesday, and you’re invited to wear your ashes, to claim repentance, grace and deep relationship with God for the challenges of your daily life. ‘Ashes to Go’ is about bringing spirit, belief, and belonging out from behind church doors, and into the places where we go every day. It’s a simple event with deep meaning, drawing on centuries of tradition and worship to provide a contemporary moment of grace.” (ashestogo.org)
