All are invited to an Ash Wednesday service on the St. Peter’s YouTube Channel, followed by prayer and imposition of ashes on Zoom. When you enter Zoom, you will be invited one at a time into a breakout room with Rev. Claire or Rev. Sarah to hear the words of the Ash Wednesday prayer and the statement, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you will return.”
There are a couple of options for the actual ashes. The first is that you can use dirt from where you are—a plant pot, your yard, dust from a fireplace—and make the sign of the cross with them on your forehead. This may seem odd, but theologically, it makes a lot of sense. It is an enactment of what we know to be true, that all that God created is holy, and that God always uses the ordinary things of life to communicate with us: bread, wine, dirt, water, among many others. If that is too much of a stretch for you, there will be small packets of ashes available for you to pick up at the St. Peter’s Parish House at 313 Pine Street. To do so please contact Parish Administrator Kate Randall and arrange a time to get them. Finally, if you would prefer to have one of the priests pray with you without dirt or ashes, that is OK too.
