On Ash Wednesday, Connection Christian Church will be offering “Ashes to Go,” for its third year, a new approach to a centuries-old Christian tradition.
Connection Christian Church is part of a nationwide movement that has clergy and lay people visiting street corners, coffee shops and college campuses to mark the foreheads of interested passers-by with ashes and invite them to receive a new start in their lives, a news release said.
In the Christian tradition, Ash Wednesday marks the start of the holy season of Lent, a time for preparation for the celebration of Easter. For centuries, Christians have received a cross of ashes at the beginning of that season as a reminder of God’s forgiveness. Ashes to Go provides the opportunity to participate in that tradition for people who have lost their connection to a church, work during their church’s services, or have never participated before.
In Odessa, the church is offering Ashes to Go at:
• 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. at the Stripes convenience store at Faudree Road and State Highway 191.
• 10 a.m., Market Street on JBS Parkway.
• Noon, corner of Tanglewood and Penbrook.
• 2:30 p.m. chapel at Medical Center Hospital.
• 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., HEB parking lot on 42nd Street.
