View our collection of Ash Wednesday stories. More →

March 5, 2014

Watch the Rev. Nathan Humphrey, former priest-in-charge at St. Paul’s Parish K Street in Washington DC, and the Episcopal bishop of Washington, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, as they distributed ashes on Ash Wednesday 2013 at the Foggy Bottom Metro stop. More →

February 28, 2014

You receive ashes on your forehead “to remember that life is short … you come from dust and you will return to dust,” says Julie Bringman, director of Sunday night ministries at Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, DC. More →

February 24, 2012

The dean of Yale Divinity School reflects on Lent, poverty, public policy debates, and the moral obligations of people of faith. More →

March 10, 2011

“Part of what calls people to public service, part of what calls people to be engaged in helping others both here and around the world is their faith.” More →

March 10, 2011

The Catholic peace movement Pax Christi USA met outside the White House for prayers of repentance for war. More →

March 9, 2011

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent for many Christans, and the imposition of ashes can serve as a reminder of human frailty, a public sign of religious faith, and an expression of pastoral care.
More →

March 9, 2011

The seriousness of Ash Wednesday and Lent was preceded this week by frivolity and the traditional pancake race at Washington’s National Cathedral. More →

March 8, 2011

Burning palms and imposing ashes at the beginning of Lent reminds us of our human frailty, says Pastor Steve Buechler of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland. More →

February 12, 2010

Western Christians begin the 40 day Lenten season with a priest making the sign of the cross in ashes on their foreheads. Rev. William Tully of St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in New York talks about the significance of the ashes and of Lent. More →

February 20, 1998