Ashing Service Such a strange name for a church service! Why would anyone be attracted to attend such a thing? This year Ash Wednesday is close to the start of March; on the Second of the month. As the first day of Lent the service is used to physically place a sign of the cross on each person’s forehead using ashes made from the previous year’s palm crosses. The use of ashes has a long history in Jewish and Christian worship; the Old Testament referring to sackcloth and ashes over twenty times. There is clearly a visual link with the blackness of evil and sin but also the ‘dirtiness’ that spreads everywhere from it. We all know how a small amount of mud on the shoes walked into the house will soon go everywhere and take a much harder and longer clean-up operation than if it was wiped off before entering. In Christian records, ashes are used for penitents by the sixth century, but it is not until the beginning of the eleventh century that the faithful took part in a ceremony on the Wednesday before Lent that included the imposition of ashes. Still later this came to be called Ash Wednesday. Over the centuries the emphasis of meaning for the imposed ashes has changed, from a preparation for baptism, a renewal of baptismal vows, to an understanding of a community’s preparation for the event of the Paschal mystery of rebirth at Easter. It reminds of what is past and what is to come, and it encourages us to think again of how we can change that journey should we wish to do so. THANK YOU Luci, Emily, Jess and the family of Nigel Heath, would like to thank everyone for their support, cards of condolences, prayers and donations to the charity ‘Help for Heroes’. Your support has really been appreciated. Thank you. 8
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