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Ash Wednesday
Feb. 6th, 2008 12:19 pmI just went to my first Ash Wednesday service ever, held in the chapel of the hospital I'm training in this month. Every time Ash Wednesday has rolled around since I began attending church back in 2000, I've been on the road, traveling and training, at the start of Lent, and while I've always had the option of attending some local Methodist church's service after work, I've never actually done so. When I found out I could do it on my lunch hour, I thought, why not?
I might also go tonight. One of my students was wearing a Cross-and-Flame pin (the Methodist logo) and I immediately thought to myself "You know, I bet she's in the choir." (She was.) You can recognize choir types once you've been around them enough. I chatted with her and mentioned that I might want to hunt up a local church and next thing you know she'd brought in printouts of the web sites of the UMC church nearest my motel, the church nearest the hospital, her church a few miles away, and the schedule of hospital Ash Wednesday observances.
I was a little surprised that the Ash Wednesday service here at the hospital consisted of a few words from the hospital's staff nun (it's not a Catholic hospital, but their chapel seems to be run by a Sister Mary Irvine), a recitation of the Lord's Prayer, and then us queueing up for the anointing with ashes. Everyone else left immediately after their turn receiving ashes on the forehead, but I stuck around to meditate/pray for a few minutes, then left. The nun kept on anointing people who dropped in and there were a few more coming in as I was leaving. I guess that's nice, get your ashes and still have time to get lunch.
I might also go tonight. One of my students was wearing a Cross-and-Flame pin (the Methodist logo) and I immediately thought to myself "You know, I bet she's in the choir." (She was.) You can recognize choir types once you've been around them enough. I chatted with her and mentioned that I might want to hunt up a local church and next thing you know she'd brought in printouts of the web sites of the UMC church nearest my motel, the church nearest the hospital, her church a few miles away, and the schedule of hospital Ash Wednesday observances.
I was a little surprised that the Ash Wednesday service here at the hospital consisted of a few words from the hospital's staff nun (it's not a Catholic hospital, but their chapel seems to be run by a Sister Mary Irvine), a recitation of the Lord's Prayer, and then us queueing up for the anointing with ashes. Everyone else left immediately after their turn receiving ashes on the forehead, but I stuck around to meditate/pray for a few minutes, then left. The nun kept on anointing people who dropped in and there were a few more coming in as I was leaving. I guess that's nice, get your ashes and still have time to get lunch.
