From the Syracuse Post-Standard:
More than 800 attend ecumenical Ash Wednesday service in Fayetteville.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
By Renée K. Gadoua
Staff writer
At a packed ecumenical Ash Wednesday service marking the start of Lent, the local Episcopal bishop challenged more than 800 people to use the season of repentance and reflection to recall the message of Jesus Christ.
"Lent calls us to be brutally honest . . . and calls us to come back to Jesus' agenda and that what he stood for is the good news of justice and compassion and integrity and peace," Bishop Gladstone "Skip" Adams said at Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church, 400 Salt Springs Road, Fayetteville.
Jesus' agenda, Adams said, does not include war or federal budget cuts that harm the poor.
His remarks came before church leaders representing eight congregations in Fayetteville, Manlius and DeWitt distributed ashes, a traditional symbol of repentance and the transitory nature of material life.
Roman Catholic, Episcopal, United Methodist, nondenominational Christian and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America congregations participated.
Ash Wednesday opens the Christian season of Lent, which ends with the celebration of Jesus' resurrection on Easter. Western churches will mark Easter on April 16; some Eastern Orthodox churches will celebrate Easter on April 23.
During Lent, some churches cover statues, use less light and sing fewer songs. Purple is the liturgical color usually associated with Lent; a purple cloth was draped over the cross hanging behind the altar at Immaculate Conception.
Many Christians make sacrifices during Lent, such as giving up a favorite food or habits; prayer and fasting are also typical.
Those are important practices, Adams said, but Christians should take them on with a sense of God's global mission, he said.
"Those acts of piety are the way to peace, the way to address the poverty of our world, literally and figuratively," he said.
The Rev. Kevin Hannon, pastor of St. Ann Roman Catholic Church in Manlius, blessed the ashes, and said Lent includes forgiveness.
"In God's eyes, the ashes are worthless," he said. "That is how our God treats our sin."
Renee K. Gadoua can be reached at rgadoua@syracuse.com or 470-2203.
1 comment:
The bishop calls for brutal honesty. My experience in this diocese suggests that when priests here have been brutally honest there have been repercussions. Fr. David Bollinger comes to mind, for example. To be brutally honest, I have spoken with a number of folks from several parishes that don't believe brutal honesty is what they get from the diocesan office of DCNY. In fact, these folks believe they have been lied to. And that's the brutally honest truth if these folks are to be believed (and I do find them credible).
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