(Seguin) — Today is the day that you can receive a special blessing without even having to leave the comfort of your car. The community’s annual Ashes-to-Go outreach effort returns this noon outside Emanuel’s Lutheran Church.
From noon to 1 p.m., pastors and staff from the Compass Cooperative will stand outside the church, offering the imposition of ashes.
Ash Wednesday is observed across many Christian traditions including Lutheran, Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian and Episcopal congregations. It is described as a solemn day of reflection and repentance — observed by having ashes placed in the shape of a cross on a person’s forehead.
The ashes are said to symbolize human mortality and the call to spiritual renewal as believers prepare for Easter and the resurrection of Christ.
Pastor Marcus Bigott, of Emanuel’s Lutheran Church, says while most congregations are also hosting their own respective services, the Ashes-to-Go event is more of a local tradition and a visible sign of unity.
“This is our 14th year to host Ashes-to-Go as a campus at Emanuel’s Lutheran Church. We are doing it alongside Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church and Frieden’s Church and then St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. We are really excited to have a true ecumenical partnership that we have celebrated for many years. It is open to the community. Anyone and everyone is welcome to come and drive up Gonzales Street from the Bowie Street side and meet one of our pastors and one of our colleagues and receive the blessing of ashes – the imposition of it – the ashes themselves as well as a small prayer and then kind of a little brochure that overviews what Ash Wednesday is and what it means for the church as a whole,” said Bigott.
Bigott says the event continues to attract more and more people each year. He says it’s designed so that it is not only convenient but safe.
“In years past, we have celebrated anyone who has been on foot with their puppy dogs, who have been on foot from the Justice Center annex, in cars, on bicycles and even folks from the school who have walked over during their lunch to receive the ashes and so it is open to anyone – however they would like to get to us. There will be traffic lanes designated by cones and there will also be volunteers out there helping to direct cars into lanes so we can keep everybody safe and moving in the same kind of direction,” said Bigott.
Bigott says he applauds the informal, outdoor format. He says it has proven successful in connecting them with people who might not otherwise attend a traditional service.
“It continues to be received extremely well, and we continue to be blessed by that. We have seen growth year after year. Covid, obviously, was a weird year for all of us and it provided a really unique way of us doing ministry so a kind of thinking outside the box year and this is why we do different kinds of ministries — to truly meet people where they are at. Sometimes folks feel that the church is not the place for them whether it’s the physical structure or to be in worship but a very informal setting like a sidewalk or in the comfort of their own vehicles – a place where they can engage or reengage their faith and this is a wonderful way of doing that. It does not look formal like a church service. It just simply looks like a bunch of people standing in the sun, smiling and wishing each person a reminder of not only their humanity but that they are loved by God,” said Bigott.
Emanuel’s Lutheran Church is located at 206 N. Travis St. Again, drivers are asked to drive by the church’s North Bowie and East Gonzales St. corner.