We go to Church without Ashes

St Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church, Clovis, California
There are some interesting quirks in the calendar this year. Easter falls on April Fool’s Day, which always seems appropriate; the Resurrection is the greatest practical joke played on Death and the Devil. Last week there was another of those quirks -- Valentines Day and Ash Wednesday shared a date. Mindy and I didn’t celebrate with a dinner date (I’ve known enough people in the service industry to know that Valentine’s is one of the worst possible nights to go out. Prices are hiked, and the strained waitstaff can’t give romantic guests the attention they expect).

Instead, we looked for an Ash Wednesday service to attend that evening. I was a little concerned that somebody would draw a heart on my forehead instead of a cross as a very early April Fool’s prank, but as things turned out, I didn’t need to worry. The church we attended didn’t do ashes.

Ashes -- and Ash Wednesday worship -- have traditionally been a Catholic element of Lent, but over the past few years, more Protestant churches seem to have begun the practice. St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church is not one of them. The service we attended was the first of their Wednesday night Lenten worship services. They referred to ash but didn’t use it.

That was just as well, because Mindy wasn’t sure she wanted to receive the ash, and I knew I had to go to work later that night. But again, it wasn’t an option. As it turned out, Communion wasn’t an option for us either.

When we entered the sanctuary as the service was beginning, an usher told us it would be best, as visitors, if we didn’t take Communion. The program explained more. “To our Guests: Scripture teaches that those commune must be properly instructed and share a complete unity of faith before receiving the Lord’s Supper together. In the best interest of your spiritual care, we ask you to refrain from communing until we have an opportunity to study the teachings of the Bible together. Please speak to Pastor Schewe after church if you are interested in learning more about the Biblical beliefs we hold to here at St. Peter.”

It is an understandable concern. The Apostle Paul wrote in First Corinthians 11: 29 & 30: “For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.” (Paul was not writing the about the kind of “asleep” that happens during a boring sermon.)

Those verses from First Corinthians are the reason churches have different policies concerning Communion (aka Eucharist, or the Lord’s Supper). In the Roman Catholic Church, only those baptized in the church may receive the bread and the cup, so when we’re in a Catholic church, we honor that. Many Protestant churches offer the elements to all who acknowledge Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but when a church mentions other conditions for partaking, we try to honor those. (On the other hand, we’ve also visited churches that offer communion with no restrictions whatsoever. One church danced while celebrating the around the table.)

At St. Peter, old hymns were sung in the service, songs that I couldn’t recall singing before (“Jesus, My Great High Priest,” “Savior, When in Dust to You”). The congregation read responsively, and Jesus’ Passion Story (from various Scripture passages) was read from the pulpit. We learned the pastor was out of town caring for his ailing mother*, so a member of the congregation read the sermon.

After the sermon, people went forward for Communion, with a choice between drinking from a shared cup or from individual cups. I assume the one cup is offered in acknowledgment of the One Cup Christ offered, what He called “the cup of the new covenant in My blood,” symbolizing the way all His disciples would be one. I assume some people have concerns about the unhygienic nature of drinking from the one cup, so they opt to drink from small, individual plastic cups.

It’s odd though. Because of the second option, the “common cup” isn’t truly common to all.

As the service ended, the bulletin instructed us to “please remain seated for the extinguishing of the lights and singing by the soloist.” So we did. The lights dimmed, the candles were extinguished, and the lights went up again.

Afterward, at the door, many people introduced themselves, asking about us and doing their best to make sure we felt welcome. We appreciated that.

Lent has begun, and we look forward to the services to come over the next six weeks. We look forward to the communion we expect to have with people, and maybe even to having something to eat and drink -- but the ashes will have to wait until next year.

*We were sorry to learn that Pastor Schewe's mother passed away over the weekend. We join the St Peter congregation in prayers for the family.