"Ashes, Ashes We All Fall Down"

"Ring 0' Round the Roses," has been a child hood tune and game that some date back to the 1790's.  Many suggest it is simply a meaningless rhyming game for children.  Others argue its origins have a darker side.  They claim that rosy cheeks were a symptom of the plague, posies were carried to ward off the smell of the disease and ashes represent cremations and that everyone who caught the disease would "fall down" to death.  Well, while I do not see myself explaining this interpretation to my kids any time soon, it does bring up a question:  If this is true, then how can something with such specific meaning become all but meaningless? 

For instance, today is Ash Wednesday.  Every year at least one person asks me a great question: "Chad, why do we have an Ash Wednesday service.  That is a Catholic thing."  My answer is always, "It is not a Catholic thing, it is a Christian thing."  But the point remains, over time even the most meaningful of practices can become meaningless.  To be honest, I have been surprised by Catholic friends who attend Ash Wednesday services year after year and who cannot explain to me the meaning of the imposition of ashes. 

When something of meaning has lost its meaning, we can either continue practicing it with no meaning--like kids playing games about people dying or we can throw the baby out with the bath water and give up on teh practice all together or we can ask our faith ancestors why it has found such meaning for the Church for centuries, listen to their answer and rediscover its meaning for ourselves. 

I invite you to join us tonight to rediscover the meaning and to embark on the journey called Lent, which if followed, albeit challenging, will lead us to an understanding and experience of Easter like no other!

So, join us as we join four other churches to rediscover what "ashes, ashes we all fall down" means from a biblical interpretation.  Our Ash Wednesday service is tonight form 7-8 PM.  All ages welcome!