Ash Wednesday
The first of the forty days of Lent, named for the custom of placing blessed ashes on the foreheads of worshipers at Ash Wednesday services. The ashes are a sign of penitence and a reminder of mortality, and may be imposed with the sign of the cross. Ash Wednesday is observed as a fast in the church year of the Episcopal Church. The Ash Wednesday service is one of the Proper Liturgies for Special Days in the BCP (p. 264). Imposition of ashes at the Ash Wednesday service is optional. *
* From An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, Glossary definitions provided courtesy of Church Publishing Incorporated, New York, NY,(All Rights reserved) from “An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, A User Friendly Reference for Episcopalians,” Don S. Armentrout and Robert Boak Slocum, editors. See https://www.episcopalchurch.org/glossary/ Note: Even though the imposition of ashes at the Ash Wednesday service is optional, Holy Eucharist will be celebrated at all our local Episcopal churches today.
Ash Wednesday Liturgy and Holy Eucharist at 12:10 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
