By Abigail Hodgson

One Chicago parish is taking Ash Wednesday outside church walls and onto the streets of Chicago.

For people too busy to attend an Ash Wednesday service, Urban Village Church volunteers positioned around the city – from CTA stations to popular lunch stops – spreading ashes on foreheads in a visible cross accompanied by the words “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

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Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a season lasting six weeks and ending on Palm Sunday. It is a time for Christians to prepare for Easter by sacrifice, repentance and fasting.

Those who participated in “Ash and dash”, or a traditional Ash Wednesday service, are letting everyone know through social media by using the hastag #ashtag.