Churches offer “ashes to go”

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – With church attendance declining as Americans become more mobile, some churches are using Ash Wednesday to try a new twist on an old tradition in which a cross of ashes is placed on the foreheads of worshippers.

Instead of administering the rite in a formal church setting, pastors in recent years have been taking the ceremony to the masses in parking lots, college campuses and street corners.

A steady stream of Tulsans lined up for the rite via a drive-thru offered by Trinity Episcopal Church and other Tulsa-area churches offering the service.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, the 40-day period leading up to Easter.

The rite draws on a phrase from the book of Genesis: Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.