When I was much younger, I used to aim to make Ash Wednesday mass as late as possible on the day. As Lent only starts then, you can get two drinks in after work before the 7:30 service. I remember once pelting through central London on a bike after glibly promising my drinking companion I could get from Charlotte St to Camden in under 10 minutes (you can't, but it's close enough). That was when I had time; and evenings. Now I try to work Ash Wednesday more efficiently and knock it off during the day. It's amazing how hard that is.
I suspect it's true that you can tell a lot about any organisation by how well they do the irregular activities. It's certainly true that you can tell a lot about a church based on what happens outside Sundays. Getting Ash Wednesday right should be easy. If you're a city church near a lot of workplaces, you should have an Ashing service at lunchtime. You might well want to have one after work too, but don't have it at 7:30. If you're residential, do it after dinner (7:30 is fine). And tell people about it - at the very least put a poster up outside, and you should really learn to use the Internet - I don't believe it's that hard anymore. People who are looking for a service near work should be able to look you up. In London, the diocese could even co-ordinate.
On Wednesday, I had to walk 20 minutes in the centre of London to find a church I knew had a service. I walked past two churches on the way. Even after looking at their noticeboards, I couldn't work out if they had a service at all, let alone at lunchtime. I mourn the fact that Ash Wednesday isn't a fundamental part of the rhythm of modern life, but I'm just angry that the churches don't even seem to trying. Anathema.
P.S. My old and new churches did this just fine.
P.S. My old and new churches did this just fine.
