Chardon United Methodist Church

Traditionally, the Christian church has observed the seven weeks before Easter as a time of penitence and spiritual self-examination.  Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent, derives its name from the ancient practice of marking the foreheads of worshipers with ashes from the unused burned palm branches of the previous year.  Ashes historically have had a dual significnance.

• First, they are Old Testament symbols of sadness and humility.  Job, in the midst of all his troubles, cried out to God from the ash heap.
• Second, the symbolic meaning of ashes is a reminder of our mortality.  Each of us faces the inevitability of physical death.  Our bodies and material possessions eventually will turn to dust and ashes.  This is a reminder that we dare not trust things that crumble.