St. Paul’s Ash Wednesday service prelude to Easter season
Albany Episcopal churches raise funds for needy with Food For Thought program
By Carlton Fletcher
ALBANY — The admonition for Ash Wednesday celebrants at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church was a solemn one: “Remember, you are but dust, and to dust you shall return.”
That sentiment, though, according to St. Paul’s rector the Very Rev. Lee Lowery, is more about life than it is pending death.
“Yes, the ashes are a reminder that we all are going to die, to return to the dust we were made from,” Lowery said. “But they’re also a reminder that every day is important. It’s kind of like that song, ‘Live Like You Were Dying.’ You have to remember to get the most out of each day you live.”
The imposition of ashes on some 80 Ash Wednesday celebrants at St. Paul’s Wednesday served as an official start to Lent, a season of repentance leading to the holiest of Christian holidays, Easter, which will be observed this year on March 27. Ash Wednesday also served as the unofficial start to St. Paul’s Food For Thought program, which provides a light lunch and a short meditation period each Wednesday leading up to Easter.
Food For Thought also raises funds for a number of charitable and nonprofit organizations. This year’s recipients are Neighbors in Need, Boys and Girls Clubs, Episcopal Relief and Development, St. Paul’s Feed My Sheep ministry, and refugee relief in Europe.
“We don’t have the resources to bring in outside speakers, but we have different speakers offer about a 10-minute meditation each week,” Lowery said of Food For Thought. “Everyone can enjoy a simple lunch and get a good thought to take with them. If they want to donate, all of the funds raised will go to a good cause.
“One of the nice unintended consequences of the program is that we’ve had an opportunity to provide lunches for people who need food.”
Last year’s Food For Thought program, the third, brought in more than $1,500 for charitable recipients.
Each Food for Thought program starts at 12:10 p.m. and will be completed by 12:50 to allow participants time to return to work. Speakers this year include Lowery; the Rev. Leigh Hall, associate rector at St. Paul’s; the Rev. Deacon Johnny Tuttle, rector at St. John’s and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church; and the Rev. Jay Weldon, rector at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church.
Information about the Food For Thought program is available by calling St. Paul’s at (229) 436-0196 or online at www.stpaulsalbany.org.
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