Ashes To Go: Southfield Church Offers Drive-Thru Service On Ash Wednesday

SOUTHFIELD (WWJ) - A metro Detroit church will again be offering drive-thru ashes for Ash Wednesday, which falls on Valentine's Day this year.

A robed minister will be in front of St. David's Episcopal Church in Southfield to administer ashes to the busy faithful.

Ashes-to-go will be available from 7 to 9 a.m. for the morning crowd, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for the lunchtime rush, and 4 to 6 p.m. for the evening bunch.

St. David's, located on 12 Mile Road just west of Greenfield Road, is also holding indoor Ash Wednesday services at noon and 7 p.m.

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, a time for fasting, abstinence from meat, and prayer in preparation for Easter. Its official name is "Day of Ashes," so called because of the practice of rubbing ashes on one's forehead in the sign of a cross.