Ash Wednesday
Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
February 17, 7 p.m. on Zoom
We aren't able to impose ashes face-to-face this year, so we'll make our own ashes a day or at least a few hours before our Ash Wednesday service.
Here's how:
Think about what you might release this Lent in order to experience respite (our Community Lenten Practice).
Write that down on a sheet of paper—or a few sheets of paper if you have more than one thing you want to release.
Find a place to safely burn those sheets of paper. Don't burn them yet, though!
Either check in with your partner or sit with yourself for a bit and imagine what it might feel like to release those things. Perhaps say a small prayer to God: "I'm giving this to you, God."
When you're ready, crumple the paper up and burn it. Be sure to burn it over a plate or other surface that will catch the ashes. (I used a metal jar top and burned the paper on the stove top).
Once the ashes are cool, you may want to grind them into smaller pieces—like dust—but you don't have to.
We'll use these ashes to impose on ourselves (or on those who live with us) during the service.
They may not stick as well or feel the same as the ashes we use at church, but that's okay. It's been an out of the ordinary year, so we'll have out of the ordinary ashes.