PERTH AMBOY – On Ash Wednesday, February 18 St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, will be offering “Ashes to Go,” a new approach to a centuries-old Christian tradition, from 6:45 am to 9 am at the Perth Amboy Train Station.

St. Peter’s, a community that has been worshiping in Perth Amboy since 1685, is joining the nationwide movement that has clergy and lay people visiting transit stops, street corners, coffee shops, and college campuses to mark the foreheads of interested passers-by with ashes and invite them to repent of past wrongdoing and seek forgiveness and renewal.

In the Christian tradition, Ash Wednesday marks the start of the holy season of Lent, a time for reflection and repentance in preparation for the celebration of Easter.  For centuries, Christians have received a cross of ashes on the face at the beginning of that season as a reminder of mortal failings and an invitation to receive God’s forgiveness.  Ashes to Go provides the opportunity to participate in that tradition for people who have lost their connection to a church, or have never participated before.

“Ashes to Go is about bringing the important traditions of our faith out from behind church walls and into the places we need them every day,” says the Rev. Emily Mellott, who maintains the website AshesToGo.org with resources and stories about this ministry.  “As people get busier and busier, we need the church in new and non-traditional ways.  We especially need reminders of forgiveness in the tough places of our working lives.  The people who accept ashes on the street are often people longing to make a connection between their faith and the forces of daily life, and Ashes to Go helps them feel that connection.”

Contact Rev. Anne-Marie Jeffery/ ajeffery@stpetersepiscopal.com/ 732 826 1594 for more information about this event.  More information about the Ashes to Go movement can be found at www.AshesToGo.org.

–Press Release