Clergy

Bishop Mark Beckwith, Canon Greg Jacobs and clergy and lay people in at least 20 towns in northern New Jersey distributed "Ashes to Go" at train stations, bus stops and other public locations. Here are some of the photos they shared with us.

Clergy and lay members of Episcopal churches across the state will hit the streets on Wednesday, Feb. 22, to distribute ashes to mark the start of the Christian holy season of Lent.

The Church of Our Saviour in Secaucus is one of 20 churches in Northern New Jersey participating in the “Ashes to Go” program on Ash Wednesday.

The Rev. Barbara Lewis of the Secaucus church will perform the service at the Frank R. Lautenberg Train Station, located at the intersection of County Road and County Avenue, from 7 to 8 a.m.

Episcopal congregations in at least 20 towns in northern New Jersey will take to the streets on Ash Wednesday, February 22, marking the beginning of the holy season of Lent by giving “Ashes to Go.”

Ash Wednesday initiates the Lenten season of reflection and penitence which precedes Easter. In the Episcopal tradition, clergy use ashes to mark the foreheads of the faithful with the sign of the cross, saying “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

In a Star-Ledger op-ed, Bishop Beckwith, Rabbi Matthew D. Gewirtz of Temple B’Nai Jeshurun in Millburn and Bishop E. Roy Riley Jr. of the New Jersey Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, join together to make a faith-based case for marriage equality in New Jersey:

In making it clear that he will veto the marriage equality bill now making its way through the state Legislature, Gov. Chris Christie has ensured that the debate over the morality of gay and lesbian relationships will be with us for months to come.

The Rev. Karen Eberhardt’s first face-to-face encounter with racial discrimination still resonates, half a century later.

She was visiting the North Carolina drug store where her aunt worked when an African-American woman entered with a boy, two years at the oldest. He made a beeline for the seats at the soda fountain and began spinning around on them.

The Vatican has invited Episcopalians who oppose their church’s liberal leanings to join the Roman Catholic fold, but so far, New Jersey congregations aren’t budging.

Pope Benedict XVI announced Jan. 1 the creation of what’s essentially a nationwide diocese to allow Episcopalian congregations to cross over while preserving some aspects of their Anglican heritage. But despite deep philosophical dissent in the Episcopal Church, church leaders and clergy said they do not expect the Vatican’s measure to spur any exodus by conservatives in New Jersey.

To begin Monday morning's Christian-Jewish Dialogue at Congregation Beth Ahm in Verona, the Rev. Laurin McArthur of Roseland Presbyterian Church read aloud two verses from the Gospel of St. Luke.

"If we get through this, we'll set a record," the reverend prefaced, chuckling.

Such is the nature of weekly round table discussions in which McArthur, the Rev. Lucy Ann Dure of The Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, Rabbi Aaron Kriegel of Beth Ahm and laymen participants pore over the Bible in intimate detail.

What does living into Christ's mission look like at Christ Church in Pompton's Shepherd's Haven? It looks like dignity and independence in a safe and structured environment.

What does living into Christ's mission look like at St. John's in Boonton? It looks like getting out from behind closed doors and building relationships.