By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the
ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.’–Genesis 3:19
The Awe of Ash Wednesday Ashes
My earliest memory of ashes on Ash Wednesday was when I was in grade school (many years ago) at Clinton Heights Elementary School. Many of my classmates were Catholic and got to go to catechism on Wednesday afternoons, thereby missing the afternoon of class. I was so envious of them. Then they would appear in school on Ash Wednesday with ashes on their foreheads and I thought they were so special — our Presbyterian Church celebrated Ash Wednesday but not with ashes.
Fast forward around 60 years and I attended and joined a UCC church in Charlotte, NC. When it came around, I went to my first Ash Wednesday service there expecting a service like all the other services I had attended on that day. Imagine my surprise when the Pastor asked us to place ashes on the foreheads or hands of each other. I wasn’t sure what to do and, I must admit, I was a little intimidated by the whole process. But once I saw others doing this with reverence, my heart joined in. It was an amazing experience that I will never forget. Now I look forward to the beginning of Lent and the placing of ashes on the forehead of whoever I’m sitting next to and acknowledging our mortality, need for forgiveness and a turning back to God. It also reminds me of the Lenten season to come and the promise of eternal life.
May we always remember the ashes on our foreheads as a symbol of our humanity and the sacrifice Jesus made for us. Amen
–Peggy Harrison