Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lenten season

Feb. 11—Depending on which denomination of Christianity you adhere to, Ash Wednesday could mean different things.

For both Catholics and Episcopalians, it marks the beginning of the season of Lent — known traditionally as a time to give something up during the 40 days leading up to Easter Sunday.

"The images people are familiar with is receiving the ash cross on their forehead," said JP Brockerman, who manages youth and young adult ministries for both St. Francis Xavier and St. William Catholic churches.

Lent is a season of mourning for the Catholic church, he says. While Jesus defeated death, all humans will die. The ashes on the forehead are meant to represent the Biblical passage from the book of Genesis "For you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

"But the shape of the cross is an outward expression that we have been saved," Brockerman said, and will live forever with Christ.

The subsequent season in Lent is a time to focus on the passion of Christ — what he went through in the time leading up to his crucifixion.

"We're called to go deeper in prayer and reflection on the cross, to search for ways to serve the poor in the community, or help the sick," Brockerman said.

While it's not exactly fasting, in the Catholic church giving something up is meant to present such. It's also a time to increase charitable giving. Most people fall into four or five categories — they give up things like food, sweets or alcohol for example, or entertainment, like a TV streaming service.

"Fasting and alms allow us to understand how much he suffered and align our sacrifice with his," Brockerman said.

Sunday is a day of celebration, remembering Jesus rose from the grave. It's not a day of indulgence, but those things one gives up can be enjoyed in moderation.

The meaning is a little different in the Episcopal church.

"Ash Wednesday commemorates the full story of our relationship to God," said the Rev. Tom Purdy, rector of Christ Church Frederica. "We have a God of grace and love. It's possible to hear that message while knowing we fall short of the mark God set for us. It's an important moment for us to engage in as we prepare for Easter, but we don't get lost in it."

Covering oneself with ashes or wearing sackcloth were symbols of mourning going back to ancient Hebrew culture, Purdy said, and that carried over to early Christianity. Even in the eighth century, Roman Christians were using ashes in their processions on the first day of Lent, he explained.

"Around the year 1000, a lot of Christians in Europe were instructed to receive ashes on Ash Wednesday," Purdy said. "As a sacramental part of the church calendar, it is over 1,000 years old."

That Wednesday normally starts with a special liturgy in addition to the regular service, a liturgy of penitence, he said.

"As a symbol of our repentance, we also administer ashes on people's foreheads, or on their hands if they're not comfortable," Purdy explained.

Similarly, Lent is a time to sacrifice, but it's more in preparation for the traditional great feast of Easter, Purdy said. There is also an element of reflection during this season.

"Everybody in the community, not just those in the community who are notorious — which is a phrase used in our prayer book, notorious sinners — recognize their faults and their sins and they repented of their sins and wanted to restore right relationship with God," Purdy said. "The use of ashes at the beginning of that puts us in our right place before God. God made us out of the dirt and when we die we will go back to the dirt. God will stay God throughout."

St. Francis will host Ash Wednesday services on Feb. 22 in Brunswick, on Jekyll Island and in Darien. They begin at 8 a.m. with St. Francis' School Mass at its church in downtown Brunswick, 1120 Newcastle Street. There will then be a scripture and ashes ceremony at 10 a.m., followed by mass at noon. There will also be a mass at 11:45 a.m. at Southeast Georgia Health System's Brunswick Hospital and it's Senior Care facility.

Another scripture and ashes ceremony will be at the church at 3 p.m., followed by a bilingual mass at 7 p.m.

St. Francis will also host a scripture and ashes ceremony at 2 p.m. on Jekyll Island at Jekyll United Methodist Church and at 6 p.m. in Darien at Nativity of Our Lady.

Episcopalian services will be held at 7 a.m. at Christ Church and 12 p.m. at St. Ignatius Episcopal Chapel.

Six churches — Christ Church, Holy Nativity Episcopal Church, St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, St. Richard of Chichester Episcopal Mission and St. Athanasius Episcopal Church — will hold an Ash Wednesday service at St. Athanasius in Brunswick at 6 p.m. on Feb. 22.

For people who don't have time to make it to a service due to work or kids or other commitments, Christ Church offers a drive-thru ash service from 6 a.m. until 11 a.m. at St. Ignatius Chapel on St. Simons Island.

"It's very important for some to receive that symbol," Purdy said.