An inter-religious prayer service on the Christian feast of Ash Wednesday to lift up our common religious aspiration to have a “Compassionate Community, “ by way of acknowledging that there are many obstacles that prevent us from realizing Compassion: our very selves and the social realities in our community.  This gathering will mark the beginning of “90 Days of Compassion,” a period that will encompass multiple religious feasts and traditions that speak to both personal and social transformation that fall between March 1 and June 3.

The service will be in two parts:  The first part will be a gathering of persons to hear testimonies, sacred texts calling for transformation and a reminder of being committed to a Compassionate Community. After the conclusion of this part of the service, people will be invited to enter the sanctuary of the host community and receive ashes from clergy who are present. Although we are building around the Christian observance of Ash Wednesday, people of all faith traditions (or none) are welcome to participate as they feel comfortable.

We will start in the city hall plaza under the eaves (windy-rain plan in the social hall), and then process across the street to First Christian Church for ash distribution.