Where to get Ashes to Go for Ash Wednesday in North Jersey: Taking church to the streets
Ash Wednesday arrives this week, starting the 40-day period of Christian repentance known as Lent. The weeks leading up to Easter are meant to be a time of self-reflection, prayer and fasting.
Many followers will commemorate the first day of that period by getting blessed with ashes in the shape of a cross on their foreheads — and then spend the day wearing that symbol of their own mortality. Typically, a priest at a Mass delivers the blessing while reciting the words "You are dust, and to dust you shall return."
But these days, the faithful in North Jersey don't need to venture inside a church to complete the ritual.
A growing number of Garden State congregations offer Ashes to Go for time-crunched commuters at train stations, intersections and bus stops. The initiative was launched over a decade ago by an Episcopal Church in St. Louis, but the concept has spread to other churches around the U.S.
The Rev. Emily Mellott, rector of Trinity Church in Moorestown, was among the clergy members who were instrumental in popularizing the movement.
"The key is to be in places where people do not expect the church to be," she said. "Many people outside the church are hungry for faith, connection and community. Often people have left the church due to negative experiences, and walking through church doors can be a huge barrier."
More: As more NJ churches close, development plans and preservation fights heat up
Here's a list of some sites in New Jersey that will offer Ashes to Go on Wednesday, based on a website maintained by the Episcopal Church. For a more expansive list, check out dioceseofnewark.org/ashes-to-go.
Allendale train station (performed by Trinity Church): 6 to 8:30 a.m.
Denville, Church of the Saviour: starting at 5 p.m.
Glen Rock (All Saints Church) Borough Hall train station: 6 to 8 a.m.
Hawthorne, St. Clement's Church driveway: 7 to 9 a.m.
Hillsdale train station (Holy Trinity Church): 6 to 8 a.m.
Ho-Ho-Kus train station (St. Bartholomew's Church): 7 to 8:45 a.m.; at the church: noon to 1 p.m.
Madison train station (Grace Church): 6 to 8 a.m.
Montclair, outside St. Luke's Church: 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Morris Plains, St. Paul's church: noon to 2 p.m.
Nutley (Grace Church), Delawanna NJ Transit station on the NYC/Hoboken-bound platform: 6:50 to 8:25 a.m.
Oakland/Franklin Lakes, St. Albans preschool door: 8 to 10 a.m.; in front of the church: 6 to 8 p.m.
Ridgewood, outside Christ Church under the portico: 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 to 3:40 p.m.
Verona, Gould Street near the parking lot of Holy Spirit Church: 7:30 to 9 a.m. and 2 to 3:30 p.m.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Ash Wednesday 2025: Ashes to Go events near your NJ town
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