Fr. Brian Winter (2/18/16) —
It was amazing weather, especially for the middle of February, and we were standing on a street corner in downtown Castle Rock, inviting passers-by to acknowledge their Christian faith by marking their foreheads with ashes.
In the morning and afternoon on Ash Wednesday, February 10th (the first day of Lent), Rev. Janet Fullmer of St. Philip in the Field, other area clergy and I were on the corner of Wilcox and 4th Streets, offering “ashes to go.” We shared prayers and the imposition of ashes with people heading to work … with families coming by with their children … with workers from local restaurants, who came out in their aprons. Even those who passed by without stopping were reminded of the day’s significance, and had a moment to reflect on God’s presence in their lives.
All in all, about 75 people, including a good turnout of parishioners from Christ’s Episcopal Church
(Castle Rock) and St. Philip in the Field (Sedalia), stopped by to begin their Lenten journeys by taking part in our humble sidewalk ritual of preparation.
Getting out to share our faith with the community turned out to be a wonderful experience, a blessing i
ndeed. It gave us a chance to “get out of the aquarium” (as Paul Harvey would say) and into the world, where we could be “fishers” of men, women and children once again. +
