'Ashes to Go' at the Tuxedo train station on Ash Wednesday

TUXEDO — St. Mary’s in Tuxedo Episcopal Church will take Ash Wednesday "to the streets" on Feb. 10 with “Ashes to Go,” a new approach to a centuries-old Christian tradition, from 6 to 9 a.m. at the Tuxedo train station on Route 17.

St. Mary’s is part of a nationwide movement "that has clergy and lay people visiting transit stops, street corners, coffee shops, and college campuses to mark the foreheads of interested passers-by with ashes and invite them to repent of past wrongdoing and seek forgiveness and renewal," according to a church statement.

Ash Wednesday marks the start of the holy season of Lent, a time for Christian reflection and repentance in preparation for the celebration of Easter.

For centuries, Christians have received a cross of ashes on the face at the beginning of that season as a reminder of mortal failings and an invitation to receive God’s forgiveness.

"'Ashes to Go' provides the opportunity to participate in that tradition for people who have lost their connection to a church, or have never participated before," the Rev. Canon Bruce W. Woodcock, Vicar of St. Mary’s in Tuxedo Episcopal Church vicar, said in the statement. “As people get busier and busier, we need the church in new and non-traditional ways. We especially need reminders of forgiveness in the tough places of our working lives."

Traditional Ash Wednesday services are at 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. at the church.

To learn more, email to info@stmarysintuxedo.org or call 351-5122.