Some churches handling Ash Wednesday differently due to COVID-19

Ash Wednesday is one of the holiest days on the Christian calendar, kicking off the Lenten season that will culminate in Easter six weeks later.
COVID-19 has led many churches to modify how they have worshipped over the last year, and that will extend to Ash Wednesday this week. The foreheads of some of the faithful might still have the black, cross-shaped ashes on them, but clergy might apply them this year without using their fingertips.
Earlier this month, the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh announced that, in its churches, ashes would be sprinkled on top of heads rather than being placed on foreheads. According to directives from the Vatican, clergy will first be blessing the ashes, and then will sprinkle them with holy water. After that, they will address parishioners by saying, “Repent, and believe in the Gospel,” or “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
According to the Rev. Tom Kunz, diocesan associate general secretary and vicar for canonical services, “It will help the priest or deacon to avoid having direct contact with a large amount of people. This method of receiving ashes is common in other countries.”
Many other Christian denominations also place the sign of the cross on the foreheads of believers on Ash Wednesday, a custom that derives from Hebrew scriptures. In a season of prayer and repentance, ashes signify virtues like sorrow and humility, and the reality of our own mortality. Because of the pandemic, the Rev. Kurt Kusserow, the bishop of Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, said he has heard several different ideas on how ashes can be applied, such as using disposable Q-tips or cotton balls.
“Some congregations are distributing ashes in advance to apply at home,” Kusserow said, adding, “The danger we perceive is that physical contact. If there’s anything contagious on someone’s forehead, it can be spread to another.”
St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Canonsburg is having an “Ashes on the Go” service Wednesday at 1 p.m., in front of the church on North Jefferson Avenue, and clergy will be using cotton swabs to apply ashes. Congregants are expected to wear face masks.
Congregations that are part of the United Methodist Church have been able to make their own decisions on how to conduct services during the pandemic, according to Jackie Campbell, communications director for the Western Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church.
“I am old enough to remember when United Methodists didn’t do ashes,'” Campbell said. “It is an optional thing now, but I think there are a lot of churches that still don’t use ashes.”
Some area Methodist churches will be taking creative approaches on Ash Wednesday. The Rev. Melody Kimmel, the pastor at Canonsburg First United Methodist Church, Meadowlands United Methodist Church and Fawcett United Methodist Church in South Fayette Township, will be leading a short prayer service at each church, and a piece of sackcloth with a cross made out of ashes will be distributed. It will serve as a reminder that when Jews were in mourning, they put on sackcloth and ashes.
Pastor Patty McDaid at Scenery Hill United Methodist Church said they will have an in-person service, but ashes will be offered on the wrist, which can be held out at arm’s-length and put on at arm’s-length.
Meanwhile, in Monongahela, the Rev. Regis Turocy of the True Vine Anglican Church will be proceeding with a service on Wednesday, he said. His congregation is small, and he will be going out to vehicles to apply ashes for anyone who is uncomfortable attending the indoor service.
“We’ve been having services since July,” Turocy explained. “We’ve been following CDC guidelines, and we’ve had no problem.”