Now that a week has passed since Ashes to Go, and everything is put away, and totals have been tallied, I thought I should share my reflections with all of you.
First, my huge thanks to everyone who made the day possible. To Jeff Martinhuak and Susan Jester for all the planning meetings. To Konnie Dadmun and her team of ash makers, Dean Penny, Judy Charest and Vivienne Close, and for the hand wipes. That’s quite a job! To Brooks for organizing the albs. To Bob Oslie for bringing up the signs, having coffee and donuts ready when I arrived at 6:30.
What a pleasant surprise! To Susan for getting such great media coverage. To our drivers, Craig Monsell, Donna Purdue and Tom Merritt, that made getting our teams out so easy. And finally to our wonderful “Ashers”, including Judy who gave ashes in the church office. We administered ashes and received prayer requests from over 1,000 people. So many people really opened up their hearts when sharing their requests, which will be read at Morning Prayer.
I ended the day at Merrill Gardens with dear Andrew, Maya and Gary. My chance to administer ashes to the residents. When I got home I heard the sad news about the horrific shooting in Florida. It just seemed to take the wind out of my sails as I watched the news and wondered how many more prayer requests we would have received if the next day was Ash Wednesday.
As the week went by I began thinking about how many more times we could take the church out to our community, giving and receiving prayers; Prayers for the Safety of our Children, Prayers for Gun Control, Prayers for our Dreamers who only want the chance for a pathway to citizenship. And I’m sure there are many other opportunities that you all can think of.
Again thank you to everyone who made this our biggest Ashes to Go. Your dedication, courage, faith and love make this possible
Joyfully,
Pat Kreder
More Photos by Big Mike:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stpaulscathedral/albums/72157693085880134
