Southfield church offers ashes to go on Ash Wednesday

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - Ash Wednesday is a holy day in the Christan community - but getting to the church for ashes on their foreheads isn't always easy - so a Southfield church is helping out with drive-thru ashes.

St. David's Episcopal on 12 Mile in Southfield is offering drive-thru ashes. A robed minister started his morning at 7 a.m. to mark the ashen cross on foreheads of believers.

Typically, this is done during a service inside the church at the beginning of Lent, but St. David's is trying to help spread the word and ashes - even if it's just a brief visit.

"Last year, hundreds of people received prayer and ashes through this ministry," said the Very Rev. Chris Yaw, rector of St. David's Parish. "What's more, many of us, who served on that day, were blessed by the opportunity we had to meet and pray with others."

Ash Wednesday is a Christian holy day that marks the start of Lent, the period of prayer, fasting and repentance leading up to Easter. People wear ashes in the sign of a cross on their forehead as a sign of penance.

St. David's didn't entirely stop the indoor services - they have one at noon and another at 7 p.m.

"Ash Wednesday is intended to provide a time of reflection and repentance for what we have done and what we have failed to do," Yaw explained. "We hope that Drive-Thru Ashes can make the message and meaning of this day more accessible."

St. David's Episcopal Church is at 16200 West 12 Mile Road, just west of Greenfield Rd. They'll be offering drive-thru ashes until 6 p.m. on Wednesday.