Church offers drive-through ashes for Ash Wednesday

Pastor provided ashes and a prayer while subjects stayed in their cars

ROANOKE, Va. – If you wanted ashes fast on Ash Wednesday, a church thought of a quick way to kick off Lent.

Huntington Court United Methodist Church set up a drive-through ash station behind the church during lunchtime Ash Wednesday. Pastor Jeff Wilson stood outside with ashes as subjects drove up, then marked them with ash and recited a prayer encouraging change while they stayed in the driver's seat.

Wilson admits the event started out as a silly idea, but it became much more serious when he figured spirituality did not have to be contained within a church.

"To me, church is just a building," Wilson said. "We're called to be a people, which means we should be outside the building. Honestly, this is my comfort zone.'"

This is the second year Huntington Court UMC has offered drive-through ashes; Wilson says they are already planning on continuing the tradition next year.