Ashes doled out on-the-go
Ash Wednesday at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Newport, Kentucky on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012.
Photographer: Jessica Noll
Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Posted: 02/22/2012
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By: Jessica Noll
NEWPORT, Ky. - Ash Wednesday symbolizes the beginning of the Lenten season, which leads ends on Easter Sunday. But as one Rector learned, church isn’t always inside four walls and rows of pews, but can be found on the streets of Newport, Ky.
With two swift motions of his thumb, The Rev. S. Matthew Young traced black ashes in the form of a cross on many foreheads.
"Today is Ash Wednesday . It's the most solemn day of the year for Christians of most traditions. It's a stark reminder of our mortality. So ashes are distributed freely to all the faithful," said The Rev. S. Matthew Young of St. Paul's Episcopal Church.
Saint Paul's Episcopal Church distributed those ashes in a new way this year—or at least in a new location.
"I've been distributing ashes on Ash Wednesday for 14 years. I heard of this idea from the Episcopal Bishop of Chicago, who said, 'You know if we want to retain our traditions and find people where they are, then we need to hit the streets where they are,’" said Young.
That's why he took the church to them. He set up on the corner of Court Street, in front of the Campbell County Courthouse and across from the church, with a sign that read: “Receive ashes here” with an arrow.
"There's been people who have been running, jogging, walking, people who are homeless... a reflection of the city we live in," he said as he dashed his finger and thumb into his small wooden container of ashes and touched Carmen Woods’ forehead.
With one swipe upward and side to side, he said, "Father, son, and the Holy Spirit come upon you and remain with you today and forever."
"This is the first time I've seen him out here instead of going to the church, it's more convenient to come out here," said Woods, who works just steps away inside the courthouse.
In his first year of offering ashes to go, Young 'imposed' about 40 people with ashes within the first few hours of standing on the corner.
P.J. Ferris and her friend saw Young standing in his purple robe and decided to stop by.
"I just came from a procedure so I wasn't able to go get my ashes and neither was she was taking me to the procedure so when we drove by and saw him standing here we said 'this is exactly what we, it was suppose to happen," said Ferris.
With each ashy cross made on foreheads, Young said standing on the sidewalk, "Peace be with you. You're welcome and have a great day."
If you're looking for a fish fry throughout the Lenten season, visit our complete guide at http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/news/local_news/tri-state-2012-fish-fry-guide.
Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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