By Kaitlyn Liles, COMM 2360
A student-organized Ash Wednesday service was held in Manning Chapel on Feb. 14 and welcomed Catholic and Protestant students alike.
Ash Wednesday is a holiday celebrated predominantly by the Catholic church and begins the observance of Lent. The service involves the distribution of ashes onto the foreheads of participants in the shape of a cross, signifying a call to repentance. Lent recognizes the sacrifice of Jesus descending to earth to make atonement for our sins and specifically reflects on his time of temptation and fasting in the wilderness before the start of his public ministry according to DynamicCatholic.com.
Those involved in the planning hoped the service would give those who observe Ash Wednesday an opportunity to worship alongside their peers and those who are unaware of the practice a way to embrace the similarities between denominations and encourage faith conversations.
Helene Chaumont, a University of Mary Hardin-Baylor freshman and member of Christ the King Catholic Church, spoke on her experience with Ash Wednesday and Lent as a whole. “It’s just a good basic practice to do. And I’ve seen a lot more Protestant churches start implementing that, which I think is really cool.”
Chaumont observes Lent for the 40 days leading up to Easter (not including Sundays) and abstains from eating meat on Fridays. She also fasts on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, only eating one meal in the evening as a reflection on Jesus’ own self-restraint. Chaumont was a part of the student-led team that organized the Ash Wednesday service hosted on campus and was one of the ash distributors on this last observance.
Roughly 10% of the UMHB student body identifies themselves as Catholic, though this number might be greater due to those who may have marked “no preference” on their application.
Dean of Spiritual Life and University Chaplain Jason Palmer states that UMHB strives to “make the local church participation primary.” He sees the hosting of an Ash Wednesday service on campus as a perfect opportunity to allow the local church to pour into students.
Palmer also recognizes that this service offers a middle ground for non-Catholic students to observe Ash Wednesday and says that the choices made regarding the worship and teaching are done so that many can feel welcome and understand the similarities that all faith backgrounds share as the body of Christ.
