For the fourth year in a row, Episcopal congregations in towns across northern New Jersey will take to the streets on Ash Wednesday, February 18, marking the beginning of the Christian 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, 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.
From 7:30 to 9 a.m., morning commuters can receive ashes at Newark Penn Station from The Rt. Rev. Mark M. Beckwith, Bishop of Newark and at Newark Broad Street Station from The Rev. Canon Gregory A. Jacobs, Canon to the Ordinary.
A list of churches in the Diocese of Newark which plan to offer Ashes to Go at public locations in their towns is below.
In this video, hear from three of our congregations – Christ Church, Bloomfield-Glen Ridge, St. John's, Ramsey, and Calvary Church, Summit – about their experiences offering Ashes to Go in 2013.
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 severe weather, please confirm directly with the individual church (church office numbers are listed below). To confirm with the Bishop or Canon, 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 over 100 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
Allendale – Trinity Church (201-327-3012)
5:30-9 AM at the Allendale Train Station
Bayonne – Trinity Church (201-858-4460)
7:30-8:30 AM at the Hudson Bergen Light Rail Station, 8th Street and Avenue C
7:30-8:30 AM at the Hudson Bergen Light Rail Station, 34th Street and Avenue E
Belvidere – St. Mary's Church (908-475-5494) with St. Luke's Church in Hope (908-459-4340)
8 AM in front of the County Court House in Belvidere
Bloomfield/Glen Ridge – Christ Church (973-743-5911)
6:30-8:30 AM at the Bloomfield Avenue Train Station, the Glen Ridge Train Station, the bus station on the corner of Bloomfield & Park and the intersection of Bloomfield Avenue & Broad Street Canceled due to cold
1-6 PM at the Center for Faith & Spirituality (SC112), Montclair State University
Boonton – St. John's Church (973-334-3655)
7 AM at the Boonton Bus Kiosk
7:30 AM outside Boonton High School
11 AM at Victoria Mews Assisted Living Center
Budd Lake – Christ Church (973-347-1866)
6-8 AM at the Netcong Train Station
Chester – Church of the Messiah (908-879-7208)
6:15-6:45 AM outside the Chester Dunkin Donuts, Rt 206, Chester
8-9:30 AM outside Starbucks, Rt 206 Chester Shopping Mall
3-5 PM at the NJT # 156, 159, 181 buses across from Borough Hall
Clifton – St. Peter’s Church (973-546-5020)
7-9 AM at the Allwood Road Park & Ride at Allwood Road
Dover – St. John’s Church (973-366-2772)
5-6:30 PM at the Dover Train Station
Essex Fells – St. Peter's Church (973-226-6500)
8-9 AM and 5-6 PM in front of the church (271 Roseland Avenue)
Fair Lawn – Church of the Atonement (201-797-0760)
6-8 AM at the Radburn Train Station (plus free coffee)
Fort Lee – Church of the Good Shepherd (201-461-7260)
7-8 AM at the George Washington Bridge Bus Stop
Glen Rock – All Saints' Church (201-444-6874)
7-8:30 AM outside the Glen Rock Boro Hall Station
Harrington Park – St. Andrew's Church (201-768-0819)
7-8 AM at the Harrington Park Bus Terminal
12:30-1:30 PM outside the church doors
Harrison – Christ Church (973-483-1260)
7-9:30 AM at the Harrison PATH Station
Hawthorne – St. Clement's Church (973-427-8118)
7-8:30 AM at the Hawthorne Train Station
Hillsdale – Holy Trinity Church (201-664-2428)
6:30-7:30 AM at the Hillsdale Train Station
Jersey City – St. Paul's Church (201-433-4922)
8-9 AM and 5-6 PM at McGinley Square
Kinnelon – St. David's Church (973-838-6696)
5:45 AM at the Park & Ride in Newfoundland on Route 23 South
6:15-7:30 AM at the Bus Station on Rte. 23 South at Meadtown Mall in Kinnelon
7:30 AM on Main Street in Butler
Leonia – All Saints' Church (201-947-1233)
2-4 PM at the bus stop at Ft. Lee Road and Broad Avenue
Little Falls – St. Agnes' Church (973-256-5020)
7-9 AM at the Little Falls Train Station
Maplewood – St. George's Church (973-762-1319)
7:45 AM at the Maplewood Train Station
(with Morrow Memorial Methodist Church in Maplewood)
Millburn – St. Stephen's Church (973-376-0688)
6:30-8 AM at the Millburn Train Station
Montvale – St. Paul's Church (201-391-3181)
6:30-7:15 AM at the Montvale Train Station
Mountain Lakes – St. Peter's Church (973-334-4429)
6-8:15 AM at the Waterview Bus Stop on Hwy. 46 East in Parsippany
Newark Penn Station
7:30-9 AM by The Rt. Rev. Mark M. Beckwith, Bishop of Newark (973-430-9907)
Newark Broad Street Station
7:30-9 AM by The Rev. Canon Gregory A. Jacobs, Canon to the Ordinary (973-430-9907) and Deacon Lloyd Batson of House of Prayer in Newark (973-483-8202)
4:30-6 PM by The Rev. Valerie Bailey Fischer of House of Prayer in Newark (973-483-8202)
Newark – St. Andrew's Church (973-375-3012)
7:30 AM and 1 PM at the Clinton Avenue entrance to the Parish Hall
Nutley – Grace Church (973-235-1177)
8:30-9:30 AM in front of the Nutley ShopRite
Paterson – St. Paul's Church (973-278-7900)
9-11 AM in front of the Main Post Office in downtown Paterson
Ramsey – St. John's Memorial Church (201-327-0703)
7-8:30 AM at the Ramsey Main Street Train Station
(in case of inclement weather, at the Rt. 17 Train Station)
Ridgewood – Christ Church (201-652-2350)
6-7:15 AM at the Ridgewood Train Station
Rutherford – Grace Church (201-438-8623) with St. John's Church in Passaic (973-779-0966)
6:45-7 AM at the Rutherford Train Station
South Orange – St. Andrew & Holy Communion Church (973-763-2355)
6:30-9 AM outside the South Orange Train Station
Summit – Calvary Church (908-277-1814)
5:30-8:30 AM at the Summit Train Station
8:15 Am at the Glenpointe Marriott, Teaneck bus stop
Tenafly – Church of the Atonement (201-568-1763)
7-8 AM at the Tenafly Bus Stop
Towaco – Good Shepherd Episcopal Church of Lincoln Park and Montville (973-334-2882)
7-8 AM at the Towaco Train Station
10 AM-12 PM at the Franklin House in Franklin
1-5 PM at the Sussex Farmers Market and the Sussex A&P
