The Day of the Ashes is a ritual in Christianity where each church member gets an ash mark on the forehead. Also known as Ash Wednesday in the United States of America, it is a ritual that entails keeping close contact. From drive-through arrangements to delivering ashes to their members by mail, Southern California’s churches have found new ways of safely continuing the tradition.
There are many locations all over Los Angeles, San Bernardino County, and Orange County for Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church. Anyhow, the church’s Upland location is the one that embraced a modified system for the Day of the Ashes. For that system known as ‘Ash and Dash’, the Upland-based church put a kit of ashes in a trunk or passenger seat, letting its visitors safely apply those onto their foreheads.
Rather than imposing these on individuals’ foreheads, we would safely distribute the ashes kits to their trunks/passenger side windows, said the Church’s Reverend Keith Yamamoto.
They have been having a drive-through Ash Wednesday since the year 2018. The Reverend said that that arrangement aided him in getting ashes last year, after entering a collision that would not have let him take part otherwise.
The church’s leadership discovered that individuals were busy, so they were unable to have breaks from work to reach the institution or their Ash Wednesday-special service. After that discovery, the church has been having the drive-through event. After starting it, individuals in their morning journeys have been able to come through their parking lot, get their ashes and start their day.
People who attended the 2021 Day of the Ashes saw masked ministers, instructing vehicle drivers where to head to and letting them get their ashes without contacting anybody outside. The Christian church advised about Lent instruction, too, plus they performed two streamed church services at 12:00 pm and 07:00 pm, respectively.
The Los Angeles-based ‘St. James in the City’ mailed their congregants ashes because they were unable to have in-person Ash Wednesday services. The LA church also streamed a service at 07:00 pm, and they asked their members to check the mailboxes for the ash kits delivered on February third week.
Several LA episcopal churches have produced creative solutions like mailing blessed ashes, said Bob Williams, who is Canon for Common Life, Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. Therefore, they would have the religious powders for the virtual Ash Wednesday services, Williams added.
Pasadena’s All Saints Church had a slightly more interactive Ash Wednesday in 2021 with a campaign called ‘Burn It’. They requested their members to write phrases and messages of constraining or negative experiences, drive by that establishment and share those with masked ushers there.
The Pasadena establishment took the phrases that came into them right through the Day of the Ashes and utilized the ashes as part of their special-day service.
St. Charles Borromeo decided to conduct an Ash Wednesday mass as a drive-in event. In it, parish members were parked in their designated areas and were told to use masks always, including when in their vehicles. When being there, they listened to the real-time church service through their vehicle radios.
Wearing COVID-19 personal protective equipment, church servers went to each of the cars and distributed the ashes.
Bob Williams found it a wonderful experience for those who might be uncomfortable about visiting a church during this period. Williams also said that the places of worship found creative solutions for the meaningful observance.
