Ash Wednesday services at Protestant university attract interest
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Nashville, Tenn., Feb 26, 2009 / 09:27 pm (CNA).- Ash Wednesday services at Belmont University have become an annual tradition, with Bishop of Nashville David Choby joining Todd Lake, the school’s vice president of spiritual development, for the Wednesday service at the former Baptist school.

Bishop Choby said in his sermon that people need physical reminders of spiritual truths, making the customs of Ash Wednesday so powerful, The Tennessean reports. He also told the mostly Protestant audience of hundreds about the custom of making the sign of the cross on his forehead, lips and heart before reading from the Bible.

"I do that as a sign the love of Christ will be in my mind, that the love of Christ will be on my lips, and that the love of Christ will transform my heart," he said.

Attendance at the services may reflect a trend towards liturgical interests among younger evangelicals.

Todd Johnson, professor of worship at the evangelical Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California told The Tennessean that such interest is common.

"We have a whole generation of people who are familiar with using symbols," he told The Tennessean. "Kids have grown up using icons on their computers. Symbols mean more to them than words."

Ash Wednesday became more commonly observed after 9/11, Johnson said. The ashes conveyed the loss of life and death in that terrorist attack.

"It's a reminder of your baptism, and time to examine your life," he said. "The ashes used to be a sign of sin. Now they are a sign of our mortality."

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Subscriber comments:
Published by: Matthew Weber
Berkeley/CA/USA 04/21/2009 05:52 PM EST
The "Euchrist"? Is that a person who believes that playing card games brings him closer to God?

I see this more as further proof that Protestant Christians are dropping the unproductive and ignorant biases of the past, and approaching their separated brethren with charity. If it makes you happier to cling to a bitter and pinched iconoclasm, then I hope it works out well for you.
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Published by: R.Bruce Vandiver
Memphis Tn 38119 03/23/2009 08:48 PM EST
Further proof of the acceptance of the post modern churches, Christian schools and Seminary's beliefs in the false doctrines of the emerging church's teaching about the importance of the Euchrist and other Catholic dogmas and traditions.
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