LENT IN BLACK & WHITE
Ash Wednesday emphasizes a dual encounter: we confront our mortality and confess our sin before God within the community of faith. The use of ashes as a sign of mortality and repentance has a long history in Jewish and Christian worship, and the Imposition of Ashes can be a powerful nonverbal and experiential way of participating in the call to repentance and reconciliation. This practice is the historic focus of the Ash Wednesday observance and gave the day its name. It is traditional to save the palm branches from the previous Passion/Palm Sunday service and burn them ahead of time to produce the ashes for this service.
ASH WEDNESDAY 2024 UPDATE: After two years away from this project and some false starts during the pandemic, I am excited to begin again in 2024. As we start this year, I’m leaving up all the previous year’s posts simply to keep in mind what’s gone before. While the goal is always to post pics each day of Lent, this year, I’ve vowed to post every day while also giving myself grace if, for some reason, it does not happen. Sundays will feature a color photo since every Sunday is like a mini-Easter (which is why we do not count Sundays in the 40 days of Lent) as a reminder that Easter is coming. These are posted to my Instagram account and archived here. Click on any picture to see the whole image along with the caption.