For the fifth year in a row, Episcopal congregations in towns across northern New Jersey will take to the streets on Ash Wednesday, February 10, marking the beginning of the Christian holy season of Lent by offering “Ashes to Go.”
Ash Wednesday initiates the Lenten season of reflection and penitence which precedes Easter. In the Episcopal tradition, ashes are used to mark the foreheads of the faithful with the sign of the cross, with the words “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Numerous priests and lay people will visit train stations, bus stops, coffee shops, shopping centers and street corners to offer ashes and a brief prayer to commuters and pedestrians who wish to participate.
In South Orange, the Church of St. Andrew & Holy Communion will offer ashes at the South Orange Village Train Station. In Maplewood, ashes will be available for commuters at the Maplewood Train Station, thanks to St. George’s Episcopal Church. Millburn commuters can receive ashes from St. Stephen’s church at the Millburn Train Station.
See specific times below.
During morning rush hour, commuters can receive Ashes to Go from The Rt. Rev. Mark M. Beckwith, Bishop of Newark at Newark Penn Station.
The Rev. Canon Gregory Jacobs, diocesan Canon to the Ordinary, will offer Ashes to Go 7:30 – 9 AM outside the Prudential Tower at 655 Broad Street in downtown Newark.
Churches in the Diocese of Newark that plan to offer Ashes to Go at public locations in their communities are listed below.
The Ashes to Go initiative was started by the Rev. Teresa K. M. Danieley of St. John’s Episcopal Church, St. Louis, MO, who began conducting a street corner service with the distribution of ashes in 2007.
For more about the Ashes to Go program, visit ashestogo.org.
In case of inclement weather, please confirm directly with the individual church (church office numbers are listed below). To confirm with Bishop Beckwith or Canon Jacobs, please contact Nina Nicholson, Director of Communications, at 973-430-9907 or nnicholson@dioceseofnewark.org.
The Episcopal Diocese of Newark comprises the northern third of New Jersey with 101 congregations in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, Warren, and Union counties.
Episcopal churches and clergy offering Ashes to Go in the Diocese of Newark (by town)
Allendale – Trinity Episcopal Church (201-327-3012) 5:30 – 8:30 AM at the Allendale Train Station
Belvidere – Episcopal Church of St. Luke and St. Mary, Hope and Belvidere (908-818-9661) 8 – 9 AM at the Warren County Courthouse Steps on the Belvidere Green
Chester – Church of the Messiah (908-879-7208) 6 – 6:45 AM outside Dunkin Donuts on Rt. 206 8 – 9:30 AM outside Starbucks on Rt. 206
Franklin Lakes – St. Alban’s (201-337-4909) 6:30 – 8:15 AM at the VFW lot on the corner of Pulis and Franklin Avenue
Fort Lee – Good Shepherd (201-461-7260) 7 – 8:30 AM at the NYC Inbound Bus Station
Hillsdale – Holy Trinity Church (201-664-2428) 6:30 – 7:30 AM at the Hillsdale Train Station
Hoboken – All Saints Episcopal Parish (201-792-3563) 8-9 AM at the Hoboken PATH Station (Erie Lackawanna Terminal)
Jersey City – St. Paul’s Church (201-433-4922) 8 – 9 AM and 5 – 6 PM at McGinley Square
Lincoln Park – Good Shepherd Episcopal Church of Lincoln Park & Montville (973-334-2882) 7 – 8 AM at the at the Lincoln Park Train Station
Little Falls – St. Agnes’ Church (973-256-5020) 7:30 – 9 AM at the Little Falls Train Station
Maplewood – St. George’s Church (973-762-1319) 6 AM at the Maplewood Train Station
Madison – Grace Church (973-377-0106) 6:45 – 7:45 AM at the Madison Train Station
Millburn – St. Stephen’s (973-376-0688) 6:30-7:30 AM at the Millburn Train Station
Montvale – St. Paul’s Church (201-391-3181) 6:30 – 7:15 AM at the Montvale Train Station
Mt. Arlington – Christ Church in Budd Lake (973-347-1866) 6:15 to 8:45 AM at the Mt. Arlington transit station, corner of Rt. 80 and Howard Blvd
Mountain Lakes – St. Peter’s Church (973-334-4429) 6 – 7:45 AM at the Waterview Bus Stop on Hwy. 46E in Parisippany
Newark – House of Prayer (973-483-8202) 7:30-8:30 AM at the Broad Street Station Plaza
Newark – Trinity & St. Philip’s Cathedral (973-622-3505) 8 – 9 AM and 6 – 7 PM on the sidewalk in front of the Cathedral at 608 Broad Street
Ramsey – St. John’s Memorial Episcopal Church (201-327-0703) 6:15 – 7:40 AM at the Ramsey Route 17 Train Station
Rutherford – Grace Church in Rutherford (201-438-8623) and St. John’s Church in Passaic (973-779-0966) 5:45 – 8 AM at the Rutherford Train Station
South Orange – Church of St. Andrew & Holy Communion (973-763-2355) 6 – 9 AM at the South Orange Village Train Station
Succasunna – St. Dunstan’s Church (973-927-1485) 7 – 8 AM at the Mt. Arlington Train Station
Summit – Calvary Church (908-277-1814) 6 – 8:30 AM at the Summit Train Station
Tenafly – Church of the Atonement (201-568-1763) 7 – 8 AM at the Tenafly Bus Stop
Towaco – Good Shepherd Episcopal Church of Lincoln Park & Montville (973-334-2882) 7 – 8 AM at the Towaco Train Station
Verona – Church of the Holy Spirit (973-239-2850) 9 – 11 AM & 1 -3 PM on Gould Street between Church & HB Whitehorne Middle School
Wood-Ridge – St. Paul’s and Resurrection Church (201-438-8333) 9 – 10 AM in front of the Wood-Ridge Post Office 10 – 11 AM in front of Veterans Park
