Where did the ashes come from?

Connor and Evan wondered where the ashes we used last night at the Ash Wednesday service came from. This is a good quesiton and I am sure they are not alone in their curiosity so I'll share. But first a few words about why we would use ashes in the first place. 

Ash Wed. centers on our own human mortality and the confession of sin before God, thus the long prayer of confession from Psalm 51. It also marks the beginning of lent as we journey from death to life in Christ's resurrection on Easter. 

The ashes symbolize the dust and broken debris of our lives as well as the reality that eventually each of us will die. This is why we use the words from Genesis 3:19, "Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return."  

The ashes used yesterday came from burning a few of last year's palm branches that we used on Palm Sunday and the written prayers that the Bible study group wrote on Tuesday. 

God's Peace, Rev. Mike Fry